


Tears of Gold

by KisaraMoriarty777



Series: Hazbin Hotel Fanfiction [2]
Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Control Issues, Cruelty, I DO NOT SHIP VALENTINO AND ANGEL, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Poor Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Poor Valentino had a bad past, Possessive Behavior, Soft Valentino (eventually), Unrequited Hate, Valentino is a jerk and this fanfiction is not meant to counter that!, Yandere Valentino
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:00:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 35,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23005150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KisaraMoriarty777/pseuds/KisaraMoriarty777
Summary: THIS IS NOT MEANT TO SUPPORT ANGEL DUST X VALENTINO! VALENTINO IS A BAD PERSON AND ANGEL DESERVES MUCH BETTER! I DO NOT SUPPORT VALENTINO OR HIS ACTIONS!Angel Dust: Darling of Hell. Star of the biggest company in Hell.Valentino: Sauve, seductive owner of the biggest company in Hell.Angel Dust: Damaged, broken, and dealing with issues around his self-worth.Valentino: Shattered. Hurt. Dealing with issues that he dare not admit to anyone.Both are successful in their fields, but both long for another life. Both long for escapes, yet are forced to play a role neither wish to keep. Will they be able to break free and become the people they wish to be? Or will they forever be trapped in personal Hells much worse than anything they face outside of their own minds?
Relationships: Alastor/Vox, Charlie/Vaggie
Series: Hazbin Hotel Fanfiction [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1638574
Comments: 50
Kudos: 107





	1. Stay in the Studio

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to MavisRead for requesting this fanfiction! It was so much fun to write
> 
> Please check out their accounts/channels!
> 
> MavisRead's archive account: 
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/users/MavisRead/pseuds/MavisRead
> 
> MavisRead's youtube account: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxwxF41CURRvWlghFnaeyKQ

It was night by the time Angel got back to the studio. He had meant to return before sundown however Charlie had asked him to help Husk with the bar. Asked? No. Charlie had practically begged him to help Husk with the bar. It had been a week since the hotel had opened, and Charlie was convinced still that people would come sign into the hotel. She wanted everything to be pretty and perfect, and that meant keeping the bar fully stocked with cutesy, fruity drinks. Husk, on this particular day, decided that he no longer wanted to create fruity drinks. He wanted to just binge-drink the cheap booze, so he took off at noon to drink. This meant that there was no bartender. A perfect thing considering that there were no people at the bar, however, Charlie was upset about this, as she was worried someone would come to sign in and see no one at the bar. So, she guilt-tripped Angel into running the bar. 

In truth (which he would never tell anyone at all), he liked Charlie. She was dorky and believed in people way too much, but she meant well. She really did mean well. She was sweet, kind, and mostly, believed in him. So, when she asked him to man the bar, he told her he could manage.  
That had been a mistake. A huge mistake. 

Angel knew it was risky going to the hotel at all. His boss was not the most understanding person in the world. Not even close. The whole reason he had to keep up his “bad boy,” look was because of Valentino. He was Val’s baby. His star. And if anything came in the way of that… it didn’t end well. Angel Dust didn’t hate Valentino. Not at all. He disliked him, sure, but he knew Val had his reasons. No one ended up the owner of the head porn studio in Hell without their horrid backstory. Somewhere along the line, someone let Val down and turn him into a monster. Angel related to that. He had been let down so many times, all the fingers on all his hands couldn’t keep track. He figured it was likely the same with Val, but that didn’t mean he had to like Val. It just meant he didn’t hate him. What he did, however, feel for Valentino was fear. He would never tell anyone that little secret, but Angel didn’t fear anyone more than Valentino. Hell, he’d rather take on the Devil himself than Valentino. But it wasn’t easy to avoid Val’s wrath. The simplest things would set him off. One of the biggest triggers, though, was Angel leaving the studio. So, every time he spent time at the hotel, he had to sneak into the studio and into his room. Most of the time he got lucky. Val was either busy with work or busy with one (or more) of the workers at the studio. Today, however, was not a lucky day for him. He was creeping to his room when he heard his boss’s voice behind him. 

“Angel cakes~” purred Valentino. Angel froze in place, swallowing hard. 

“H… hey Boss. H… how’s it going?” Angel asked as he turned around, smiling at Valentino as best as he could. 

“Oh, it was going pretty well. I was working on a new project. That is until I realized my main star for the project was missing. I looked everywhere for you, baby, but I couldn’t find you,” pouted Valentino as he moved closer to Angel Dust. Angel backed up without meaning to. He cursed himself for showing his fear, but he could not help it. 

“Y… yeah. Sorry ‘bout that. I was with a John. It took a little longer,” he lied. Valentino shook his head. 

“You know I hate lies, baby cakes. I know you had a John in the morning, but the poor sod only took 5 minutes to finish. Called me up to tell me how amazing you were. Added, though, that you left in quite the hurry after he paid up. So where were you really, Angel Dust? And DON’T YOU DARE LIE TO ME!” screamed Valentino. Angel winced a little at this. He gasped when he found himself backed against a wall. Had that been there before? He couldn’t remember. 

“I… I was at the hotel,” Angel admitted. Valentino growled at this. 

“You were, were you? Oh my. You know how I feel about that little operation, don’t you? I told you to stay away from that place, Angel. You are my star. My property. Don’t forget who made you, and who can break you just as easily,” Valentino hissed. Angel looked down at the ground.  
“My friends are there,” he muttered. He didn’t mean for Valentino to hear him, but he had spoken a little too loudly. 

“Oh?! Friends?! Angel baby! This is Hell! No one is your friend! Everyone just uses you! They think you are just a cheap little toy to use! Use and throw away! And what happens when they realize you are beyond redemption?! They will throw you out!” shouted Valentino. Angel wanted to say something back, but then he thought about what Valentino was saying. 

What if Val was right? How did he know Charlie would not throw him out as soon as she knew how far gone he really was? How did he know Vaggie would not convince her to throw him out? Hell, he didn’t even know if Alastor, who was apparently some big hotshot in Hell, would get him kick out simply for entertainment. Valentino lifted Angel’s chin up gently. 

“Oh darling. Don’t look so sad. Your daddy has you now. Daddy won’t let you go. No one can hurt you while you are with me. Stay in the studio, Angel, and I promise you will be treated like royalty. Leave, and I cannot promise you anything,” Valentino whispered to him. Valentino’s bottom hands gripped Angel’s waist, pulling him close. 

“Yes Val,” he whimpered out. 

“Yes to what, baby? I want to hear you say it,” Valentino ordered. 

“I won’t leave the studio without your permission,” said Angel. Valentino smirked, licking Angel’s ear softly. 

“Good. Good. You know I care about you, Angel Dust. You know I want to protect you. You know, deep down, that I love you,” he purred. Angel bit his lip. He hated this. When Valentino did this. Because a small part of him wanted to believe him. 

“I know,” was all he could reply. 

“Now, go to your room and get some rest. There is a big film shoot in the morning, Angel cakes. I think you are going to like this one. Oh, and it is an all day shoot. Back to back to back to back scenes,” Valentino told him. Angel sighed softly, then smiled. 

“Sounds good, Boss,” he forced out. Valentino kissed his forehead, then let him go. Angel rushed to his room, shutting the room behind him. He was lucky Valentino was in a relatively good mood tonight. Otherwise… he had no idea what would have happened. He washed up, got dressed, and then tucked into his bed. He pulled out his hellphone, and texted Charlie. 

“Hey. Can’t show up tomorrow. Work shit,” Angel texted. 

“Oh… that is too bad. We are having a party tomorrow,” Charlie told him. Angel smiled a little to himself. 

“Awesome! Have fun!” is what he wanted to send. He then thought about if Valentino found his phone, and changed the message. He whimpered as he sent it. 

“Party? Ha. Bet it is going to be lame. Glad I’m missing it,” he messaged. Charlie took a while getting back. 

“Angel. Is everything ok?” she replied. He hurt her feelings, and she was worried about him? She was too good for Hell. 

“Yeah. Fine,” Angel replied. 

“Ok,” Charlie messaged. “Night,” she added. Angel sighed as he put down the phone. He had trouble sleeping that night, but not because of the fear of Valentino’s wrath. Because, rather, he was upset about missing the party. He really did think it might be fun. He wanted to spend time with all his friends. He really did. But alas…

He had to stay in the studio.


	2. Heart of Gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gives the reader a small trip into the mind of Hell's very own Valentino, but what they find there might just shock them.

Valentino wandered around the studio, looking at the images plastered on the walls. Images of past works. Images of his works. They were on display for all of Hell to see. Of course, they were. They were his masterpieces. His works of art. He had taken the industry to a new level when he took over the studio. It was no longer just about throwing anything onto the screen that had to do with sin. No. It was about creating works of art that people would flock to. Things people would speak about for ages. And they did. Valentino’s work was known throughout all corners of Hell. Whether you watched it for pleasure, heard about it from friends, or saw the showings on your hellivision, you knew of his work. And that should have been enough. 

Should have been. 

That was the thing. Valentino found that he constantly felt empty. He felt that nothing mattered within his world. He was successful. Rich. Powerful. He could have any person he wanted to. He had plenty of people that wanted him. He was charming and seductive, and people swooned or coward when they saw him. Both were reactions he was supposed to want. But there lied the issue. He had grown tired of people fearing him or lusting over him. It had been fun at first, sure, but that feeling faded shortly. 

But what was he supposed to do about that? He was trapped within a system that he could never escape from. Valentino was stuck due to his status in Hell. He was an overlord, after all. He had a reputation to protect. His reputation came with benefits. Safety. Protection from exterminations. He had a safe place to stay in during the yearly extermination, and to risk that was stupid beyond compare. He had his friends. Powerful demons. To say anything risked their friendship and alliance, and what was he to do if he lost that alliance? And there were his rivals. They feared him because of his persona. He showed the persona of a man who would wring your neck if you spilled wine on his carpet. The persona of a man who would kill you just by looking at you a certain way. That made demons who thought about attacking scared off, and that made his life easier. To show any emotion meant showing weakness in the eyes of the demons in Hell, and that meant that he would lose his safety and protection. He may even lose his status as an overlord. That would certainly mean death. No. He had no choice. As much as it hurt him to have to block out all feelings, he had to stay cruel, cold and calculating. But then there was another issue. 

Angel Dust. AKA Anthony, though Valentino knew how much Angel hated that name. He had made Angel a star during the beginning of Angel’s career. Taken a small spider demon and made him into the most popular porn star in all of Hell. It had been all good at first. They were both getting rich and both getting more and more well-known amongst the higher demons of Hell. They were invited to social gatherings. Parties and galas. Invited to dine with overlords and princes. It was good for both of them. 

And then Valentino began to become more and more popular. People began to recognize his work as his work. He was, after all, the brains behind it. So while viewers loved Angel Dust and couldn’t get enough of the demon, overlords and princes loved Valentino and could not get enough of his work. They began to pressure him to make more and more work. Hire more stars and have them work outside of the studio. His stars became more than porn stars. They provided services outside of the studio that Valentino never wanted them to do when he started out. But how could he say no? His options were to do what they said or his job would be given to someone else. And so, despite how long he had known Angel Dust, Angel became just another one of his stars. Just another one of his toys to use up and discard.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. The worst of it was how he had to treat them. All of them, but mostly Angel. He had to show that he had control over those who worked for him. That he could keep his darlings where he wanted when he wanted, and how he wanted. That was why, when the princess of Hell told everyone her first client was Angel Dust, he lost it. He threw bottles, cups, and everything around the room. Everyone assumed it was because he felt betrayed or felt like Angel was making a fool of him, but that was not the case at all. The truth, rather, was that he knew what he was going to have to do next. He would have to punish Angel for disobeying him. For having anything to do with the hotel. He would have to scare him into behaving. And Valentino hated that. He hated having to be so cruel. The worst part was the fact that Angel Dust never fought back. He was such a strong man, and yet Valentino could break him with a gaze. 

“You have him on a tight leash. That is good,” Helena, another overlord, had told him one day. He had nodded as he tried to finish his paperwork. 

“I have to. It would be horribly bothersome if he got away,” Valentino had replied to her. She had laughed at this. 

“You sample the product yet?” she had asked. Valentino looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. 

“You think so little of me? Darling, the more people he is with, the less he is worth,” Valentino had lied, but she bought the lie. The truth was, Valentino was not attracted to Angel Dust that way. Actually, not attracted to anyone that way. 

That was another little secret Valentino was hiding. He ran the porn studio and always had a few demons on his shoulder, but he was not actually interested in sexual intercourse at all. Well, that was not true within itself. It was just that nothing about the porn studio stimulated him that way. Nothing about porn or the world of porn interested him besides the work part. He did not find it “hot” or “sexy”. He supposed that that might have been because it was his work, and not just his way of giving himself pleasure, unlike most of the demons in Hell. It was just dull for him, but he couldn’t very well say that the stuff he sells doesn’t do it for him. So he lied to people and acted like he found all of it very stimulating.   
Back to the other matter though, he really did have Angel on a tight leash, and he hated that he had to do that. But it was just another thing he had to do. So when Angel snuck into the hotel on that fateful evening, he knew he would have to act possessive and creepy. But that fearful and sad look… it hurt him so badly. After Angel had left, he had sunk back onto his couch. 

“Hey Val. You here?” called a voice. Valentino smiled a little bit. 

“Vox. Come on in,” he called back. Vox opened the door, offering Valentino a smile. He frowned though when he saw how sad Valentino looked. 

“Something is wrong. Something upset you. What happened?” Vox asked. Valentino forced a smile. 

“Nothing is wrong. I am simply tired,” replied Valentino. Vox gave him an unimpressed look. 

“Val. I’ve known you for a very long time. I know when something is wrong,” he told Val, sitting beside the demon. Valentino let out a tired sigh. Vox was right. Out of all the demons in hell, Vox was the only one that actually knew everything about Valentino. Vox was the only one still living that knew Valentino from the days before he was… well… Valentino. 

“What am I worth, Vox? My life feels empty. Meaningless. As though there is no point carrying on,” Valentino rambled. Vox shook his head. 

“That is not true. You are worth so much. You came so far. You are amazing, and no one can take that from you,” Vox told him. 

“All I do is hurt people,” Valentino commented. 

“That is not true. Those people. The stars of your shows. They agreed to be here,” Vox insisted. Valentino gave a sad chuckle. 

“They did, and then I forced them to stay. They agreed, and I… I use them and use them and keep them here like dolls on display,” Valentino muttered. He shook his head, standing up. “I have to get some rest. There is a film shoot tomorrow with Angel. It is a long one. I wish it wasn’t,” he told Vox before moving to leave. Vox let out a small sigh, watching as Valentino walked off. He rested his head back, frowning. 

“You are a complicated man, Valentino. You and your heart of stone,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all to all those who support this story! 
> 
> Also... hellivision. I am so sorry for that.


	3. Get Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel Dust meets someone new from the studio, but are they a friend or an enemy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, originally Shadow was written to be a cat demon, however, I recently changed her design to be a butterfly demon. So, in future chapters, I refer to her as such. I am changing that in this chapter, but this is a note to all the older readers.

Get Down:  
Angel Dust woke up, stretching his arms and yawning a little bit. Yesterday had been a mess. The shoot had taken all day, and Valentino had been very picky about getting everything right. He made them retake shots over and over again. By the end of the day, everyone was exhausted, and Angel’s whole body was hurting. He had been overstimulated, under-stimulated, and just stimulated. He had crashed as soon as he had gone to bed and was glad today was a day off. He heard a soft knock on his door and sighed.

“What do you want?” he called, annoyed. He immediately began to panic. In his tired state, he had snapped right away, not bothering to think that it might be Valentino on the other side of the door. He was relieved when he heard a shy female voice on the other side. 

“I… I am sorry to bother you, Mr. Angel Dust, but I bought you some breakfast,” the voice said. It was only Shadow. Shadow was a butterfly demon who was extremely shy but very sweet and polite. No one knew why she was in Hell, but everyone figured it must have been some cosmic mess-up because she was way too kind to deserve being in Hell. She was Valentino’s secretary and she was good at her job. She kept everyone organized and kept things on track. But the funniest thing was that she didn’t actually spend any time in the film areas. Angel had noticed a few times how nervous she was about the whole “porn” thing. She would never help Valentino review the footage or go over scripts. She just handled the financial books and property records. 

Another interesting thing Angel Dust noted about Shadow was how much time Shadow and Valentino spent together. He could tell that Valentino and Shadow would talk about work quite often, however, there were also times when she would hang out with Valentino outside of work. He had always been curious. Maybe he would ask her about it one day. 

“Nah. It is chill. Don’t worry about it. Bring it on in!” he called. Shadow walked into the room, her pink dress flowing behind her. She set down a tray of scrambled eggs, fruit, and some sort of plant-based ham. He looked at her with a questioning look, and she blushed. 

“I thought it might offend Fat Nuggets if I brought you really bacon,” she told him. He laughed a little. Not at her, but at the fact that she had gone through all that trouble in order to please his pet pig. Fat Nuggets, happy with Shadow’s decision, had jumped onto the bed and started eating the fruit. Angel was alright with this though. He didn’t like fruit too much anyways. He watched as Shadow left the room. He shook his head. Shadow was strange. He began to eat the food she had brought when he saw a piece of paper underneath the plate. He opened it up and began to read. 

Dear Mr. Angel Dust, 

If you do not know, my name is Shadow. I work for Mr. Valentino. 

I know I don’t get a chance to speak with you much, but I overheard the situation two days ago. I know that sometimes he can be hard on you, so if you ever need to talk, please let me know. I am here for you if you want to chat with someone about stuff, or if you just want to hang out. 

Also… please don’t judge Mr. Valentino too harshly. He may be cruel sometimes, but please remember everyone has their own story.

Sincerely, 

Shadow. 

Angel Dust stared at the note with disbelief. Had he even heard someone else there before? Did Valentino? He doubted it, because Valentino had not said anything about Shadow’s eavesdropping. She really did deserve that name though. She was just like a shadow. But still… it was nice to know someone at the studio cared about his feelings. That was nice. 

“You stupid boy! She doesn’t care about your feelings! She wants to use you!” shouted his father’s voice in his head. He shook his head, clearing away the voice. 

“Shut up, Dad,” he muttered. He set the plate on the floor, letting Fat Nuggets finish what was left of his breakfast. His Dad’s voice in his head made him lose his appetite. His hellphone rang, and he picked it up. 

“Yo! This Angie?” asked the voice on the other end. Angel’s face lit up right away. 

“You know it, babe!” he replied. The voice, Cherri Bomb, chuckled. 

“Great! I need your help! That stupid snake freak is messing with my turf. Again! Can you back me up?” she asked. Angel smirked.

“Of course! What are friends for? I’ll be there shortly,” he told her.

“Thanks Angie! You are the best!” Cherri excitedly cried. She hung up the phone and Angel smiled. This would be a great way for him to take his mind off things. A nice old turf war. He got dressed, hugged and kissed Fat Nuggets, and then headed out of his room. He was about to leave when a voice stopped him. 

“Angel baby. Where are you going?” asked Valentino. Angel froze on the spot. Not again. 

“I… I had the day off. My friend called me to a turf war. I… I just… I thought it might be a good way to show I am still a bad boy,” he told Valentino. Valentino smirked at this, walking over to Angel and lifting his chin up. 

“Hmm. A little public marketing. Well, as long as you don’t sleep with anyone while you are out, we should be fine,” he told him. Angel Dust forced a smile. 

“Of course, Boss,” he replied. Valentino let his chin go, blew him a kiss, and then took off. Angel sighed. That was a close call. He continued on his way, texting Cherri as he walked. It was then that he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders. 

“Angel?” asked a familiar female voice. Angel Dust swallowed hard. 

“H… hey Charlie. How’s it going?” he asked. She frowned a little. 

“Where are you heading to?” she asked him. 

“I was just on my way to the hotel, actually. Big V let me leave the studio, so I decided to head out to see you all,” he lied. Charlie’s face immediately lit up, and she had a big smile on her face. 

“Really! Oh! Sorry! Mind if I walk with you then?!” she asked him, back to her chipper self. Angel felt his heart break a little. He hated lying to her, but he knew how upset she would be if she found out where he had really been planning on going. 

“Not at all,” he replied. They made their way towards the hotel. As they walked, it was silent for quite some time. That is, until Charlie spoke up. 

“Hey… we were worried about you, you know?” she told him. He raised an eyebrow. 

“Worried? Why?” he asked. Charlie looked at the ground. 

“My dad hosted a lot of parties at his house before. When I was little. I met a lot of the overlords. So… I know Valentino. I know how cruel he can be, and I know how much he… I…” began Charlie, but Angel cut her off. 

“It is nothing. Val was just mad I left the studio without telling him. It got sorted out, but I just had to work a little more,” Angel said to her. 

“Yeah. I know. We were just… worried he might have hurt you somehow,” Charlie said. Angel looked away from her at that moment. 

“N… no. Val’s never hurt me,” he told her. His second lie to her today. Charlie was biting her lip now. Angel Dust knew it was because she was torn. She could keep asking him about it, and risk him getting mad. Which he would not have done, but she had no way to know that. Or, she could stop and change the topic. She chose the latter, and given the circumstances, he understood why she had done that. 

“W… well. That is good. Um… Alastor is cooking dinner for us tonight,” she told him. 

“Really? He can cook?” Angel asked. He knew that the Radio Demon was a man of many talents at least from what Vaggie had said, but cooking? Was that really one of them? 

“Yeah. He made his cookies yesterday,” she told him. Angel was about to bring up how that was baking and not cooking but decided against it. He just shrugged instead. They were about to enter the hotel when his hellphone began ringing. He looked at it. Cherri was calling. Probably wondering where he was. 

“Who is it?” Charlie asked. Angel smiled sadly at her. 

“Val. He probably found something wrong in the footage and wants me back. Gotta go,” he lied to her. Third lie. If he were getting charged for these, he’d lose all his money from the studio. Charlie, however, was too sweet to believe that her friend was lying to her. She smiled at him brightly. 

“Oh! No problem! Hopefully you can get back in time for Alastor’s dinner!” she told him. He smiled back at her. 

“Yeah. Hopefully,” he said. He knew that was not going to happen though. The turf war would likely take all day. Leaving him heading straight back to the studio. He waved goodbye to Charlie as she headed into the hotel, and then rushed to the spot where the turf war was taking place. It was not hard to find. He just searched up the 666 news and found its location that way. Sir Pentious was taking on Cherri again. That guy. He didn’t know when to give up. He arrived there a little bit late, but Cherri wasn’t upset. She was just glad she had some backup. 

“What happened?” she did ask. More out of confusion than her being upset. 

“Had to deal with those freaks from the hotel again,” Angel told her. Freaks? They were his friends. But he could never tell anyone that. Not even his best friend. 

The turf war went on for some time. He was right about it being the end of the day when it was finished. He said goodbye to Cherri as he headed back to the studio. They had won that round. Of course, they had. They were the boss team on the turf field. But still… Angel felt empty. He longed to tell someone about his feelings. Anyone. It was then he remembered the letter. Shadow. Maybe she could help him out. She wasn’t a friend, but she wasn’t an enemy. That would be perfect. The only problem was that she and Val were close, but she herself said he could be cruel, so Angel figured it might be safe to try and talk with her. He entered the studio, ready to find her. That was when he heard the crack of a whip. He snuck to where the sound was coming from and saw Valentino whipping a shark demon back. 

“That is right. Get down. Get down, you dirty rascal,” Valentino purred. He whipped the demon hard. Angel gasped. He had assumed all the demons from that gang were gone, but it turns out Valentino had captured one. How long had he had him there? The demon turned to the doorway and saw Angel Dust standing in the doorway. 

“Help me!” shouted the demon. Angel bit his lip. Valentino looked over, shock clear in his face for a moment. Angel took advantage of this and bolted. 

“Angel!” Valentino called, but Angel had already shut his door. He locked the door, and slide down.

What the hell did he get himself into?


	4. Boss B

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After having little luck speaking with Angel Dust, a guest arrives and speaks with Valentino. The guest convinces Valentino to blow off steam another way, and he does so. Only it impacts him in a way he had not seen coming.

“Angel Dust. Open this door right now!” shouted Valentino. Angel Dust was huddled in the corner of his room. He was holding a small knife. It was his only means of self-defense that he had in his room.

“Val! Are you here?” called a small, feminine voice from downstairs. Valentino sighed.

“Velvet. What do you want?! I’m in the middle of something!” shouted Valentino back to her.

“I know that! Vox called and said to talk with you! So we are going to have a little chat! Get your butt down here before I come up there and drag it downstairs myself!” shouted Velvet. Valentino growled.

“When I get back, Angel, you and I are going to have a little chat,” Valentino told Angel.

 _“Please let him leave. Please let him leave. Please let him leave,”_ Angel thought to himself. He heard Valentino’s footsteps leaving the room and sighed a breath of relief.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Velvet was waiting downstairs, phone in hand and checking her social media pages. Vox had called her and told her that something was up with Valentino. She and Valentino had been friends for quite some time, but she knew that Valentino hid a lot from her. He hid a lot from everyone. Even Vox, who was easily his best friend. Velvet envied the relationship the two had. She wished that she had a friend like that. She kind of felt like a third wheel at times but knew that it was not their fault at all. Valentino and Vox treated her well enough. She knew they never did anything to hurt her intentionally. It was just that they shared a friendship she had not been a part of, and she had come into the group late. That meant that she would always be a little less close to Vox and to Valentino then they would be to each other. It was just something she would have to live with.

When Vox had called her, she was honestly shocked. Vox had explained that he didn’t want to deal with whatever Valentino was going through. Well… not so much didn’t want to deal with it as much as he was scared he would make matters worse. Velvet assured him that she would take care of it and that she would do her best to make sure Valentino was ok. When Valentino came down the stairs, she put away her phone, stood up, and crossed her arms.

“What happened?” Velvet asked. Valentino sighed, walking past her to the bar. He poured himself a drink. Whiskey. It was his anger drink, and she knew it.

“It was nothing,” he muttered.

“Nothing? Why were you yelling at Angel Dust then?” she growled. Valentino rolled his eyes.

“Why do you care?” he spat. She grabbed the drink from his hand.

“I care because he is your star, and if you hurt him too much, he will rebel. He will leave the studio and you, and run off to that beautiful little hotel that he has been hanging around. You are not his only option anymore, Val,” she told him, giving him some tough love. Valentino walked over to the couch and slumped down on it.

“I know. That is what scares me. He saw me torturing someone. He knows I kept a little pet to play with when I am pissed off,” Valentino told her.

“So?” she asked him.

“So he… he might become more scared of me,” Valentino replied.

“So… you don’t want him to be scared of you?” Velvet asked.

“That is a hard question. In terms of my job, I guess I need him to be scared of me. I need him to fear me and respect me. But… I don’t _want_ him to fear me,” he tried to explain. Velvet nodded, playing with the cup in her hand.

“I know what that is like. I’ve had a few people that I wanted to keep as friends… but they got too scared and now they just work for me,” she told Valentino. Valentino relaxed into the couch, shutting his eyes.

“I just wish I didn’t have to be so cruel to him,” he said to her in a soft voice.

“Alright… well… why not go use your little toy to blow off some steam? You don’t want to punish Angel Dust right now, and from what you said, you have no need to. The one you do need to punish, however, is the one that caused Angel to notice you had the pet in the first place,” Velvet said to him.

“That is true,” Valentino mumbled. And it was true. The shark had refused to tell Valentino the information that he needed, and because of that, he was pissed off and careless, leaving the door open for Angel to see in. If the shark had just cooperated… Angel would never have seen that.

“It is! So why don’t you just go ahead and punish them?! It will help you calm down, you will punish the person that deserves it, and then you can have a nice calm chat with Angel. You can still do the whole “scary dom” act with Angel too. But you won’t be upset anymore!” insisted Velvet. Valentino nodded a little.

“That sounds like a wonderful plan. Thank you, Velvet,” Valentino said to her. Velvet beamed a little bit.

“You’re welcome, Val! Any time! And hey, don’t worry about stuff. Angel will understand why you are as you are. I get it, and so will he,” Velvet told him. Valentino smiled softly.

“I hope so,” he replied. Velvet stood up, dusting off her dress.

“I should get going. Take care of yourself,” Velvet called as she left the studio. Valentino waved to her as she left and shut the door behind her.

“Um… Mr. Valentino?” a soft and timid voice from behind him called. Valentino turned around to see Shadow standing there. She looked a little frightened, and he suspected she had probably overheard the end of his conversation. The part Velvet had said about punishing someone. He smiled a little. Shadow had a tendency to blame herself for things that were not her fault and to assume people were upset with her when they were, in fact, not.

“Darling, I’m not planning on punishing you. It is someone else,” he told her, knowing that that was where her fears were coming from. He saw her relax a little bit.

“Oh. That is good. I thought you might be upset that I spoke with Mr. Angel Dust,” she mumbled. He raised his eyebrow.

“You spoke with him?” asked Valentino. Shadow nodded.

“Yes. He was in his room and I spoke with him before. He seemed upset, so I wanted to make sure he was ok before I did my work for the day,” she informed him.

“Did he seem… alright?” Valentino questioned. Shadow smiled at him.

“He seemed better afterward. I… I told him not to be upset with you,” she replied. She was looking down now, and she was shaking again. He suspected that it was likely because she was afraid he would be mad at her for speaking with Angel Dust without his permission. He walked over to her and she shrunk away. Her eyes were shut tight and she whimpered softly.

“Shadow. Look at me,” he ordered, though his voice was quiet. He did not miss the tremendous amount of effort it took her to raise her head. Her tear-filled eyes looked up at him with fear.

“Please don’t be mad, Mr. Valentino,” she softly begged to him. Valentino gently smiled at her.

“Shadow. I’m not upset with you. I am glad that you talked with him. If you can, keep doing that,” Valentino told her.

 _“Be kind to him. Lucifer knows I wish I could, but I can’t. So be kind to him for me,”_ he thought to himself. Shadow offered him a shy smile.

“O… of course,” she replied to him. He could tell from her face she knew what he meant. She knew how hard it was for Valentino to share how he really felt about things, and she knew she could reach out to Angel in ways Valentino was not allowed to. He was glad that she was his secretary. She was skilled at her job, but she also went above and beyond her work. Plus, he had the feeling she did not completely hate him, which was good.

“Did you have anything else to do in terms of work?” asked Valentino. Shadow considered the question and nodded.

“Yes. I have a few calls to make and a few documents to review. There are also three meetings that are scheduled for today that I can handle. Smaller business offers that you need not trouble yourself with,” she told him. Valentino nodded.

“Good. Just be careful. And tell anyone who asks that I am dealing with business elsewhere. I do not want to be disturbed,” ordered Valentino. Shadow nodded at this.

“Of course, Mr. Valentino. Shall I speak with Angel Dust today after my meetings?” Shadow offered.

“That would be wonderful,” Valentino replied. Shadow politely bowed her head and left the room. Valentino left as well, returning to his personal room in the studio. He took off his current clothing and changed into a black leather outfit. He grabbed a whip and headed to the room where his little guest was held. He opened the door, checked to ensure no one else was around and locked the door behind him. This time, he would not be interrupted.

“Hello there,” he purred to his captive. His hostage was huddled into a corner, shaking and bleeding all over the floor. Valentino’s lip curled up with dismay. “Disgusting,” he muttered.

“You know what is disgusting?! You and your whole operation,” snapped the shark. Valentino whipped him hard, causing the shark to yelp.

“Now darling. Are you really so sure you are in a position to speak to me like that?” asked Valentino. The shark laughed.

“Sure?! Why not?! It is not like you are going to kill me or anything. You’ve barely even hurt me at all since I’ve been here, so why not? Seems like the boss was right. You’ve lost your touch,” taunted the shark demon. Valentino let out a wicked laugh that caused the shark demon to shrink back.

“You haven’t heard, have you?” laughed Valentino. The shark looked up at him with worry in his eyes.

“Haven’t heard what?” asked the demon. He was trying to sound calm, but Valentino caught the quiver in his voice.

“Your boss and the rest of your gang is dead. While Vox was grabbing you for me, I was handling a little business with a few of my girls. During that time, Angel decided to go and do some business for me without my permission. He messed things up, things got crazy, and I had to step in. See, Angel cakes killed everyone but the leader, and because I could not have the leader talking bad about my baby, I shot him in the head from my limo. So, your boss was wrong. I did not lose my touch. I would say, rather, I was very good with the gun in one hand, a drink in one, and my others wrapped around two very beautiful demons in my limo,” taunted Valentino as he explained the events that had transpired a while ago. The shark demon shook his head.

“N… no! That is not possible! You are lying! He cannot be dead!” shouted the demon. Valentino saw tears falling down his face and he laughed.

“He cannot be dead? You don’t seem to care much about the gang itself. Tell me, what did you and the boss have together?” questioned Valentino. The shark demon looked away.

“He… he was my brother,” muttered the demon. Valentino’s head fell back as he laughed louder.

“Oh! That is classic! I didn’t know he had any family, but that is golden! Truly golden! You know that he was attempting to scam me, right? He was going to take the money and go. Should have known better than to mess with me. Let’s say I had gone. What was he going to do then?” asked Valentino.

“He… he was going to try to do the same thing. When Angel showed up, he texted that it was better than he expected,” he muttered. Valentino raised an eyebrow.

“Wow. Your brother actually thought that he could get away with that. Let’s assume I did not kill him on the spot. Did he really think that I would not send all of my army after him? Did he really think he would get away with it? You have no idea the allies I have,” growled Valentino.

“I know. I know. I tried to tell him, but he wouldn’t listen. He just kept telling me it would work out. He’d find a way to work it out,” replied the demon. Valentino snarled at this. He whipped the demon hard across the face.

“NO ONE MESSES WITH VALENTINO!” he shouted. With each word came another lash. Blood stained the whip and the floor, but he did not care.

“I’m sorry!” cried the demon. The news of his brother’s death had broken him. He was a quivering and sobbing mess and Valentino felt power within him. He had control, and he loved it. He pulled out a knife and made his way towards the demon. Pinning him to the ground with his bottom hands, he began to carve his name into the demon’s stomach. “STOP IT! PLEASE!” screamed the demon in pain.

“No. You are going to sit there and you are going to take this. You are going to take this like the pathetic piece of filth you are!” hissed Valentino as he finished his message.

 _“Valentino’s property. Touch, and you die,”_ was carved neatly into the flesh of the demon. Blood spilled out of the wound, and Valentino stepped back.

“Now, you are going to lie there and think about what you and your idiotic brother tried to do to me. And every time you think about it, you will think about how you let him die. How you let him get hurt,” snapped Valentino. He walked out of the room, wiping his gloves onto the leather. He was glad he had changed clothing. It would have been a nightmare if he had not. He looked down at his outfit that was covered in the demon’s blood. The red made the leather look quite nice, he had to admit. When he looked up, he saw Vox standing there.

“I see you had fun,” Vox said to him. Valentino nodded.

“I sure did. Taught him a lesson,” Valentino began. He was fully planning on telling Vox all about it when he realized what he had said.

_“Taught you a lesson right and proper, didn’t I? Now, are you going to behave, Val, or are you going to misbehave more?”_

“Val? Are you alright?” asked Vox. Valentino tried to tell him he was fine, but he found he could not speak. His head felt light.

“Happening again…” Valentino managed to force out. Vox’s eyes widened and he rushed over.

He caught Valentino just in time.


	5. Undress Rehearsal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the first flashback of the story, we get a look into Valentino's past, and how he first started at the studio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I feel like I should put a warning ahead of this chapter. 
> 
> This chapter deals with some pretty difficult topics. It might be hard to read, and it was designed to be this way. I wanted to show how horrible Valentino's old boss was, and I wanted to show that while Valentino is an awful person as we are shown in the comic and show, there were things in his past (in my version of his past, anyhow) that made him that way. Because of this though, there are parts of this chapter that can be very upsetting. So if you chose to skip this chapter, that is fine. 
> 
> Stay strong and stay safe, 
> 
> The Author 
> 
> P.S: This is also the first chapter to feature adult content. So please do not read if you are underage.

_The moth demon walked into the studio wearing a tight leather outfit. It was not the sort you would ever walk around in on Earth. It was the type mothers would yell at you for wearing because their children might see you. It was the type parents would be mortified to see their child wearing. However, it was just the type for the job he was about to apply for._

_The moth demon had arrived in Hell nearly a month prior to the events of this day. He had gotten a few small jobs, but all either ended with his bosses dying or with him getting fired because they replaced him with a newer demon. He was about to lose his home because he could not afford it, and he knew how dangerous living on the street would be. He had to make money. He had to find a way to make some cash quickly._

_That was when a young demoness had approached him with a job offer. She had worked with him for a week during his last job, and she had been sad when he got let go for a newer demon. She had promised to try and help him out, and he had thanked her. He assumed it was just a gesture of goodwill, but was shocked when she showed up at his place a week later holding a poster._

_“I told you I would help you!” she exclaimed to him. The moth demon blinked a few times._

_“What is that?” he asked as he examined the poster._

_“It is a poster for the porn studio, silly! They are hiring new actors! They are looking for people right now! You have to go! But on something super sexy!” she shouted to him. He sighed._

_“Porn? Seriously? You want me to get a job as a porn star?” he questioned with a raised eyebrow. She turned around to him._

_“Yes. Honey, it pays really well. I know this girl who works there. She gets to live in the studio rent-free as long as she makes good videos! It is a really good deal! You have to do it!” insisted the demoness. The moth demon let out another sigh._

_“I don’t even think I’d be any good on camera,” he replied. She rolled her eyes._

_“Can you act seductive, submissive, and flirty?” she asked him. He considered her question for a moment. Could he? The easy answer to this question was yes. Yes, he could act like that. Yes, he could play the part and he could do well. He had the figure for sure, and while he never admitted that to anyone at all, he was quite an attractive demon. He was slimly built but had muscles. He had four arms, but he could retract two at will. He was certain that whoever he worked for at the studio would put that to good use. Plus, his figure made it so that he could pull of masculine, feminine, and gender-neutral outfits. That would be useful to the studio for sure._

_“Yes. I suppose I could. But still… I have no experience with that kind of work,” he countered. She peeked up from behind his bed. She was clearly looking for it he had any outfits that would work._

_“But you’ve… I mean… done it before, right?” she asked. He laughed._

_“Of course. When I was human, I mean. Not since then, but I’ve only been here for a month now,” he replied. She sighed a breath of relief._

_“Oh good. You had me worried for a minute. Anyhow, you will be just fine! As long as you have some experience with… you know…” she began._

_“Yes. I know,” he cut in. He was shocked she was so hesitant to say it when she was the one trying to get him a job at the studio in the first place. He did not speak this thought aloud though. He would leave that alone. Everyone had their comfort levels, and he was not one to judge hers. She pulled out a tight leather outfit and collar for him. The collar was attached to a leash. She had brought that from her place and she was beaming as she held it out to him._

_“Go and put those on,” she demanded. He went into the bathroom of his apartment and changed into the outfit. He had a little bit of trouble getting the leather outfit onto himself. It felt strange and he did not like it. He really hoped that if he got the job, they would not make him wear things like this often. He put on the collar, attached the leash, and walked out of the bathroom._

_“Is this good?” he asked. She pouted._

_“Can you try to say it a little more seductive please?” she shot back. He rolled his eyes. Taking a breath, he got into character. His tongue traced his lips and he pushed her against the wall. He ran a hand along her face and nuzzled her neck. He pulled away, tilting his head to the side with a smirk._

_“Do you like what you see, baby?” he purred. She let out a choked little gasp and he moved back. She blinked a few times and broke out laughing._

_“I thought you said you were not experienced!” she cried out. He chuckled a little._

_“I did, but I never said I’ve never seen anything like that. I just said I haven’t done anything. I read books and watch stuff. You are aware of that, right?” he answered with a chuckle._

_“Great! You will be perfectly fine in that case! I believe in you! First off though, we need you to have a name. You never told anyone your name. You do have a name, right?” asked the demoness. The moth demon considered this._

_“I did have a name. A human name, anyhow. Never bothered to come up with a demonic nickname,” he informed her._

_“Really? Hardly anyone here uses their human name. My demon nickname is Sugar, by the way. Nothing fancy or anything, but that is the name I wanted,” Sugar told him. The moth demon smiled._

_“I like that. It is…” he began, but she cut him off._

_“Sweet? I swear if you say it is sweet, I will punch you in the face so hard you won’t get any jobs at the studio!” she hissed. He laughed._

_“I was going to say nice,” he told her. She laughed a little bit at this._

_“Sugar and spice and everything nice? That what you were going for?” she asked. He nodded._

_“Yeah. Sorry. Couldn’t pass that up,” he replied to her. She giggled._

_“Anyhow, you have a demon nickname you want to go by?” she questioned. The moth demon shook his head._

_“Antonio Veras was my human name. I just go by Veras normally,” he told her. She considered this and shrugged._

_“It is an ok name,” Sugar commented. Veras rolled his eyes._

_“Glad you approve of the name,” he muttered._

_“They might give you a stage name though. Tends to happen,” she told him._

_“That is fine by me. I don’t care much either way,” he replied. She smiled at this and practically shoved him out the door._ _Veras rolled his eyes again as he followed Sugar to the studio._

_When they arrived, he could not hide his amazement at the building. It was huge. It was decorated with so many posters and images that lined the crimson walls of the studio’s exterior. The place screamed power, dominance, and control. Veras had seen the building off in the distance many times, but being here in person was incredible for him. They walked through the large doors of the studio and he could not wipe the look of surprise off of his face still. Somehow the inside of the building was more beautiful than the exterior. It was a deep purple on the inside. The fluorescent lighting gave the place a hazy purple glow that made Veras a little bit tired. It smelled like roses inside and he caught a small whiff of vanilla._

_“Sugar! Honey! How are you?!” called a voice. A young woman was running towards Veras and Sugar. She was barely wearing anything and Veras felt a strong urge to look away. However, he did not wish to be rude, so instead, he just focused on her face. She was an ant demon. This was clear by the extra arms and the antenna on her head. She also had two large pinches on her face that made Veras uneasy._

_“Cupcake! How are you?!” cried Sugar as she hugged the ant demon. Cupcake turned to Veras._

_“You must be the new guy, right?” asked Cupcake. Veras nodded._

_“I am going for an interview,” he told her. Cupcake clapped at this._

_“Oh! That is wonderful! I am so happy to hear that! Sugar told me you were handsome… but I never imagined you were this good looking,” complimented Cupcake as she looked him over. Veras chuckled a little shyly._

_“Is that him, Cupcakes?” called a demon voice from behind Cupcakes. Veras thought he saw her whimper at the sound of the voice, but the look was gone almost as fast as it had come onto her face, so he could not be sure._

_“Y… yes sir… that is him,” replied Cupcakes. Veras looked to see a demon about his height walking towards him. The demon was wearing a long, flowing blue robe with a black fluff on the top. The bottom of the robe flowed and was almost transparent. It resembled the look of long, thin wings. It also had two extra holes for two extra arms, giving the demon a total of six arms. Just like Veras. The demon was wearing a large top hat. On the front of the hat were two very large grey orbs that resembled eyes. There were also two long, straight antenna on the hat. He had a white ruffled shirt underneath and black leather pants on. They were just like the pants Veras was wearing. Tight and Veras could not imagine they were comfortable. They were so tight that nothing underneath them was left to the imagination, and from what Veras could see, the demon was not lacking in that_ _department._

_“Hm… so you are the new guy, huh? Interesting. Very interesting. I can see why Sugar suggested you. Quite the looker, eh?” purred the demon. Veras was at a loss for words. He considered leaving there and then. Because there was one large detail that Sugar had left out._

_This overlord, who was running the studio he was trying to get a job at, was a praying mantis demon. There were few species of demons that truly scared Veras. Even when he was human, he had never really had many fears when it came to insects. There were only three that truly horrified him. Spiders, for one. That had not changed when he had arrived in Hell. Then there were roaches, but mainly because of how fast they multiplied, and how hard it was to kill them. But the one he feared most of all was the praying mantis. It had been his worst phobia on Earth and was still his worst in Hell. Which said a lot considering the strange hybrids he had seen. Hell, he was a moth demon! Which made matters worse consider that he knew moths were the prey of mantises. The way that the mantis demon was staring at Veras showed him that this demon was well aware of the natural and hell-set power imbalance between the two. The mantis demon had a hungry look in his eyes that made Veras shiver._

_But he knew that he had no other choice than to try and set his worries and hesitations aside. He needed the job. He needed the money. The offer was good, and he figured that the overlord was unlikely to kill him off if he became important enough to the studio. So, with that in mind, Veras licked his lips, puffed out his chest and smirked._

_“Oh, I have a lot more going for me than just my looks, darling,” he flirted._

“Oh my word. That was awful. Did I just say that?” _wondered Veras. However, despite his discontent with his own attempt to be seductive, it seemed that the overlord was intrigued enough to not kill him outright._

_“Really? A little… cocky, don’t you think?” replied the overlord with a smirk._

_“A little? Baby, I’m more than a little cocky. I can show you later in a private session if you want,” Veras answered. He had ripped that last line straight from a movie he had seen. Turns out those late-night movie binges were going to pay off after all._

_“I would very much like that. Now then, Cupcake told me that Sugar told you about a job offer here?” the overlord said. Veras nodded._

_“Heard you were looking for some new stars. I’m came here offering my services,” Veras told him. The overlord clicked his tongue at this and a strange purring sound emitted from his throat._

_“Interesting. Well, do you have any experience with filming adult material?” questioned the demon._

“Are we really doing the interview here? In the front of the studio?” _thought Veras._ “Oh well. Might as well just get this over with,” _he thought to himself._

_“No, but I’m a quick learner,” he replied to the overlord._

_“I like your confidence, but it takes more than quick learning to become a star. You have to show the viewers you want it. You have to sell them on your neediness. You have to make them want you. Make them crave you. Can you do that, darling?” the overlord spoke in a seductive tone. Veras took a breath. He approached the overlord with his heart pounding in his chest. Kneeling down, he gave a sweet and innocent look to the overlord. He gently nuzzled his head against the overlord’s knee then looked back up at him._

_“I can be very good if you teach me, Daddy,” purred Veras. He heard the overlord draw in a sharp breath at this._

_“Good boy. I am going to have a lot of fun with you. Oh, I will teach you so many things. Just you wait,” moaned the demon._

_“So, does that mean I have the job?” asked Veras. The overlord nodded._

_“Yes. You will start in three weeks,” replied the overlord._

_“Wait? Three weeks?” Veras cried out. The overlord laughed at this, and when he did, Veras saw clearly that Sugar and Cupcake were both whimpering._

_“Relax darling. Relax. Those three weeks will be spent training. I have to make sure you are ready. Sending you to film without proper training would be idiotic. I do have a company to run. People expect a certain level of content, and to throw a freshie into a scene without training would be a waste of film and more importantly, a waste of my time,” growled the overlord. He then grabbed Veras’s chin harshly and yanked him up. Veras gritted his teeth together hard in an effort to not wince in pain. The overlord let go of Veras’s face and chuckled._

_“Can I go now?” asked Sugar. Veras gave her a startled look._

_“You can’t leave me here!” he mouthed._

_“Sorry,” she muttered._

_“Of course. Good seeing you,” purred the overlord. Sugar bowed and then ran off. Veras noticed that one of the overlord’s arms were wrapped tightly around Cupcake’s waist. Cupcake had a nervous and scared look written across her face, and Veras could not help but feel for the girl. He also knew that he could easily be in the same position as she was and that he would have to learn to be alright with it._

_“S… should I get a room prepared for him?” asked Cupcake. The overlord nodded._

_“That would be lovely…” started the overlord, but then he paused. “I just realized that I don’t know your name darling,” the overlord said._

_“Veras,” he replied. The overlord shook his head._

_“Bonbon,” corrected the overlord._

_“What?” asked Veras, who was very confused at this sudden change._

_“Your name is Bonbon if you are working here,” the overlord told him. Veras forced a smile._

_“Sounds good to me, sir,” he replied. In truth, he hated the name._

_“My stage name is Lemonade, but my name here is Manny,” the overlord informed Veras. Manny allowed Cupcake to leave, and she took off to prepare Veras a room._

_“Should I go after her? See where my room is?” asked Veras. Manny shook his head._

_“Come join me in my office. There is something I want to show you,” he told Veras with a smirk. Veras nodded at this, and when Manny made his way into a large golden office in the studio, Veras followed him along without another word on the matter. They both entered the circular office and Veras looked around the office. It was filled with posters from shorts that Manny had made. Successful ones based on the medals that were on the shelves of the office… but all of the posters were just disgusting to Veras. Veras never held much interest in videos like that. They were all the same. Vulgar and they had no point to them. It was just sex. There was nothing else to them. Manny had sat down on the lavish chair behind the desk. Veras took a seat across from him._

_“Is there something that you wished to discuss with me, sir?” Veras asked him._

_“Yes, actually. There was. You don’t have any experience in the field, correct?” Manny asked._

_“That is right,” Veras replied coldly. Manny had asked this before, and Veras saw no reason the overlord would need to bring it up again other than to shove it in Veras’s face._

_“Then I suppose this cannot be helped…” began Manny. He then stood up and began to undress._

_“W… what are you doing?” Veras stammered out in shock._

_“I am going to train you. Now, get on your knees in front of me. Let’s hope you don’t have too much of a gag reflex. That is a turn off for me,” Manny told Veras as he began to unbuckle his belt. Veras fell off of his chair and stumbled back._

_“But… but sir! You are… you are my boss!” shouted Veras. Manny shrugged._

_“I am. But that hardly should matter,” Manny replied._

_“Don’t you have people to train your staff?! I mean, I am sure you have other people that can do this for you. People that… that do the… the training for your videos or something!” questioned Veras as he tried to regain his composer._

_“I do. I have choreographers that normally train my workers, but today I am feeling generous and I am going to train you myself. Trust me. I have experience in that area. Any of the girls or boys at the studio can tell you that,” he replied. His belt had come off now and Veras looked away as he removed his pants slowly._

_“W… while I am sure you are good… I just… I don’t think…” Veras began, however, Manny’s laughter cut him off._

_“Good. You should not think. You are not here for your smarts or for your charms or anything else. You are simply here to be a good little slut. You are here to have sex and make money. That is all. You don’t need to think about it. You just do as you are ordered,” Manny laughed. Veras looked to the ground at this comment. He knew that Manny was right. That was his job now… but did he have to be so cruel about it? Did he really have to be that harsh?_

_“I don’t know if I can do this yet,” Veras whispered._

_“Look at me,” Manny purred. Veras could not bring his eyes off of the ground though. He was unable to look away from the ground because he was afraid of what he might see when he looked up._

“Just let him leave. Please. Let someone interrupt this,” _Veras thought to himself. However, he was not that lucky. Manny reached down and grabbed his face, forcing Veras to look at him. Manny had an impressive figure. Veras could not lie about that. Veras had also been correct when he had assumed that Manny was not lacking in a… certain department. Most would consider his length impressive. Veras considered it terrifying. Though he had been no virgin while he was on Earth, he certainly was here, and he was not looking forward to his first time being with someone of that size._

_“Don’t worry darling. All you have to use today is that beautiful little mouth of yours. I can’t want to feel it wrapped around me,” chuckled Manny. Veras blinked a few times._

_“You want me to…” Veras started._

_“Yes. I want you to blow me,” Manny snapped. He was not mincing his words at all._

_“I’ve never done that,” Veras told him. That was the truth. He had not done it while human and not in Hell either._

_“Then you will hopefully be as good at learning as you claimed. Suck,” ordered Manny. He placed a hand on his length and held it in Veras’s face. Veras knew that what he was doing next would get him in a world of trouble, but he did could not stop himself._

_Within a split second, he kicked Manny hard in the legs, causing the overlord to fall hard onto the ground. Veras’s wing popped out from his shirt and he used them to carry himself backward away from Manny. He was breathing hard and he had trouble landing. Once he had through, he quickly raced past Manny and went to the door of the office. He turned the knob, ready to dash out of the office._

_But the door was locked._

_Of course it was locked. Why had he thought it would not be locked? How did he think it would not be locked? Veras turned around, but he was too late. Manny had him pinned against the door and his eyes were blood red. He had a dangerous smirk on his face and had recovered from the attack much faster than Veras had ever thought he would._

_“You are cute when you are angry, Veras. I think I might just have to give you a private little nickname. How about… Val? Had a lover named Valerie before. Killed her though. She disobeyed me, so I had to end her. I think you can be my new Valerie. Long as you don’t follow too close in her footsteps,” the overlord growled. He then bit into Veras’s shoulder hard. Veras screamed in pain as Manny ripped the flesh of his shoulder clean off and ate it. “Been a while since I’ve had a moth to feed on. I think this will be rather fun for me,” chuckled Manny._

_“Please! Enough! I will do it! Just don’t hurt me anymore!” screamed Veras. Manny smirked and stepped back._

_“You know what to do,” he said to Veras. Veras looked down in defeat and he sunk to his knees._

“What did I do in my life to deserve this?” _Veras wondered as he took Manny into his mouth. He began sucking him off slowly, using his hands on the parts that did not fit in his mouth. Manny moaned aloud and began to thrust himself hard into Veras’s mouth. He tasted awful and the movements hurt so badly, but Veras continued._

_“_ _Taught you a lesson right and proper, didn’t I? Now, are you going to behave, Val, or are you going to misbehave more?” Manny questioned. Veras shook his head as he deepthroated Manny’s length as best as he could._

_It was hours later before Manny let him go. Veras stumbled out of the office. His throat hurt and he felt sick. Cupcake saw him stumbling around like a lost puppy and helped him to his room. She got him a cup of tea and sat with him as he shook from the shock and pain of what had just happened. He refused to speak and just sat there. Eventually, with Cupcake still in his room, Veras fell asleep._

_His thoughts that night were plagued by nightmares._


	6. Question For Readers (Author Note)

Dear Readers, 

I hope you are all doing well during these difficult times, and I hope you are all staying safe. 

I wanted to start this out by thanking all of you for your continued support and kindness. I am truly blessed to have such kind readers and I am so happy that so many people enjoy my writing. Writing has always been a passion of mine, and I really enjoy it, so it makes me happy to see so many others enjoying the work I put out there.

I always love getting comments from people that have read my work, and I love interacting with people who have read/enjoyed my work. It helps me to learn what kinds of materials you all like to see in the stories and helps me get a sense of what you all have enjoyed reading so far. It is also just fun to see what people think of the story and how it is going. 

In times like these when we are all maybe feeling a little (or a lot) isolated, it is always nice to have something to take you out of your everyday life. Something to help you safely connect with others. In the spirit of this, my friend and I were thinking of hosting a Livestream. This Livestream would relate to my Hazbin Hotel stories and material, as well as some of my other stories posted here, Quotev, Tik Tok, and Wattpad. It would be a Q and A about the stories, about the characters in the stories, and there would also be a Q and A session with the characters (my friend and I would roleplay them and answer questions. We are new to voice acting, so please do not judge too harshly). 

There are also going to be reader challenges moving forward, which means a chance to have a shout out in the Livestream. Not only that, but we are going to be reading out short Hazbin Hotel (family-friendly) one-shots that are selected by the winners of the reader challenges. 

If this is something you would be interested in, please leave a comment letting us know. I will be posting the reader challenge for this story in a later chapter, and there will be a challenge in the sequel to my other story, "The Dismemberment Song", as soon as all of the chapters are posted. 

Sincerely and with thanks, 

The Author


	7. People Like Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vox attempts to comfort Valentino after his flashback. Velvet makes another appearance and the three share some not so pretty moments between each other. Vox struggles with his position as an overlord, and Valentino struggles with the flashback he had. 
> 
> The three get invited to a meeting with Lucifer, however when the meeting does not go as planned, both Vox and Valentino are forced to remember things neither wanted to.

Vox had been staying in Valentino’s room on the expensive leather couch that was located across from the king-sized bed. He was nearly dozing off when he saw Valentino awaken from with comatose state with a start. The moth demon was drenched with sweat and the sheets around him were too. He was panting hard and his eyes darted around the room frantically. His eyes were glossed over and nearly glowing. Vox could tell he was taking advantage of his moth abilities to see within the dark. That was the reason everything in his room was decorated with bright colors and patterns. It allowed Valentino to see them clearly even within the darkness. Vox was able to use his technological abilities to see a little in the dark, however, he knew it was not as good as Valentino’s ability to see within the darkness. He heard Valentino sigh and saw the man’s figure relax a little bit on the bed.

“So, you finally woke up, huh? I was going to call Velvet and tell her you were in a coma if you didn’t get up soon,” Vox called. Valentino groaned and fell back onto the bed.

“How long have you been there? Actually… scratch that… how long have I been out for?  
Valentino asked lazily.

“Three months,” Vox told him in a quiet voice.

“WHAT?!” shouted Valentino. Vox watched the moth demon as he shot out of the bed and threw a knife at the light switch on the wall. The room was flooded with a bright light and Valentino made a small hissing sound at this. Vox waited for Valentino’s eyes to adjust to the light and then watched as he began pacing around the room. “How are the ratings and stocks for the studio? Are they still alright? Have you been filming the shoots still? How are the workers? Are they all still here? Is the content still being published?” Valentino questioned. Vox began to laugh hysterically at this.

“Val. Chill out. Everything is fine at the studio. You have only actually been out for about a day. Shadow ran all of your meetings and handled the paperwork for everything. She did logistics too. Velvet helped with your public relations and Angel Dust did all of his shoots without any issues. Everything ran just fine while you were out. I handled the oversight for all of your evening shoots from yesterday. Velvet helped out with the ones this morning and this afternoon. It is 4 pm right now,” Vox told him.

“You, my dear friend, are a jerk. I do sincerely hope that you know that,” Valentino muttered. Vox laughed a little more at this.

“I know. I am an overlord of Hell. It is kind of our jobs to be jerks,” Vox replied. Valentino grumbled something and stood up.

“Where are my clothes?” Valentino asked. Vox pointed to the walk-in closet behind the two of them.

“In there. Shadow had them washed and dry cleaned for you,” Vox told him. Valentino walked over the closet.

“So… everything is still in order at the studio?” Valentino called as he grabbed his clothing. He shut the closet door and began to undress. Vox turned away to give him some privacy.

“Yes. Hey… Val…” began Vox.

“What is it?” Valentino asked.

“You were crying out while you were asleep. You were screaming and kicking the blankets off of you,” Vox commented. He heard the movement behind him stop.

“It was a nightmare. That is all,” Valentino lied to him. Vox knew that was a lie too.

“Val. I’ve known you for a while now. I have seen this happen before. That was not a nightmare. That was not just some effects of a long workday. I know that is what you would have told me next. Don’t even try and deny that. That was a panic attack. Val… were you… was it about your old boss?” Vox asked him. Valentino sighed and sat down on the bed. Vox turned back around and was glad to see he had only interrupted Valentino putting his coat on. He was fully dressed other than that. Vox walked over to him and gently sat down beside him. Valentino rested his head on Vox’s shoulder softly. Vox petted his antenna and Valentino began purring softly. This was something that only Vox was able to do. Valentino would never let anyone else touch his antenna. They were the most sensitive part of him and it caused him a lot of pain if someone so much as petted the antenna the wrong way. However, Valentino knew that Vox would never do anything to harm him, so he let Vox do it.

“I got this flashback of my first day at the studio. Do you remember… I don’t know if you had the chance to meet her, but do you remember Sugar?” Valentino asked Vox. Vox scanned through his memories.

“I think so. She was the gal that landed you the job, right? Or rather, told you about the job,” Vox said. Valentino nodded.

“Yes. That is correct. In my flashback, I was back in that old apartment and she told me about the job offer. She seemed so full of life back then. I miss seeing her,” Valentino commented.

“Val… if I remember correctly, you never saw her after that. She up and ditched you after you began working at the studio. You tried to reach out. You did everything that you could to try and keep in contact with her, but she never got back,” Vox said to him. Valentino let out an exhausted sigh.

“Maybe she changed her number and could not tell me for some reason,” he mumbled.

“Val. I know you want to see the best in her… but she ghosted you. Even when you really needed her, she left you and didn’t even give so much as an explanation about why she did that to you,” Vox told him.

“I know. I honestly feel like it was because she did not want to risk getting in trouble with Manny. She didn’t want him to find out she was texting his precious star,” Valentino suggested. Vox nodded at this.

“Sounds like a possibility. Manny would have lost it if he found out that you were leaving the studio while you were supposed to be at work,” Vox replied. Valentino gave a soft chuckle at this.

“It is ironic, isn’t it?” he asked. Vox raised an eyebrow at this.

“What is?” Vox asked him.

“Manny used to get so upset when I would sneak out of the studio. He would get so mad at me and he would hurt me. And look at me now. Angel leaves the studio and I get upset with him. I hurt him or punish him. He has this spark in him, Vox. This clear spark. And I… I have taken that spark and thrown it into a pool of water. I kill that spark every single time he is near me,” Valentino muttered.

“You do what you have to do. You are an overlord,” Vox replied.

“Ha! As if that excuses it! Sure! Yeah! I’m an overlord. And all I have ever done is break people to get here!” Valentino shouted. Vox grabbed him roughly by the shoulders.

“Listen to me. Listen to me right now. You fought your backside off to get here! You deserve this life, Val. You made this studio the second most popular entertainment system in all of Hell. Do you know how amazing that is?! You make quality content. You are loved throughout all of Hell. So what if you hurt a few people to get where you have to go? You are what matters. Remember what I taught you?” Vox sternly said.

“Yes…” Valentino whispered.

“Say it,” demanded Vox.

“You always look out for number one. No one else matters as long as you are ok,” Valentino told him. Vox nodded.

“Yes. You need to remember that. These demons… they don’t care about you. Val, Angel does not care about you. If you were to die or lose your spot as the owner of the studio, he would just go off and find someone else to work for. He does not care. And it was like that far before you ever hit him. The moment he came into this studio to start working, he did not care about you. You were a way to make some quick money. That is all you will ever be to him,” Vox insisted. Valentino sighed and stood up. Vox got off of the bed and followed Valentino as he headed out of the room.

“I suppose you have a point. This is Hell, after all. Caring and love is not really most demon’s things,” he said as he wandered to the cafe inside the studio.

“It sucks, sure, but that is reality. You can’t let your guard down, Val,” replied Vox. As soon as they walked into the room, everyone fell silent. All chatter stopped and all eyes were on the two of them. Valentino threw on his coat and walked up to the counter. The line that was there scattered and made way for him. Vox followed Valentino up to the counter.

“Hello Lord Valentino. Lord Vox. How can I help you today?” the barista asked them.

“I will get an expresso. Nothing in it. As bitter as you can make it,” Valentino ordered.

“Make that two of those,” Vox added.

“You two are so boring!” called a voice from behind them. They turned to see Velvet standing in the doorway of the cafe. She was smiling at them and she skipped up to where the two overlords were standing.

“H… hello Lady Velvet. W… what can I get you?” the barista nervously asked. Velvet chuckled.

“Hungry Girl’s Think Pink Drink please,” she ordered. She blew a kiss at the barista, who blushed deeply.

“W… would you like anything to eat?” she asked Velvet.

“You, preferably. When you get off, that is,” Velvet purred. Vox and Valentino gave Velvet a surprised expression. The barista’s face was bright red now.

“Please Lady Velvet. Not here…” whispered the barista.

“Not here?” Vox asked Velvet. Velvet chuckled and smirked at the barista.

“My house then. 12am. Don’t be late, sweet thing,” flirted Velvet before she headed over to a table and sat down.

“Are you dating my barista, Velvet?” Valentino asked as he sat across from the clown overlord. Velvet shook her head.

“Nope,” she replied.

“Then what was that back there?” Vox asked her. “She seemed flustered the moment you walked in. You have to be dating her,” Vox commented.

“Not true. I said I wasn’t dating her. Never said I wasn’t occasionally sleeping with her though,” Velvet corrected him. She looked over at the barista and winked at her. The barista quickly hurried into the back of the café.

“Fair enough, I suppose,” Valentino said with a smile. Velvet chuckled at this. They waited for their drinks to arrive. It was not long before the cups were set down in front of the three of them, as well as complimentary mini cake pops. Valentino raised an eyebrow at this, however his confusion was gone when Velvet stole all of the cake pops and began to engulf them one by one. It took only a few minutes for her to eat all twelve of the cake pops by herself.

“You know… those actually looked good…” whined Vox. Velvet pouted.

“Sorry. I haven’t eaten all day,” she replied.

“Neither have we. In case you forgot, Val passed out until a little while ago!” Vox snapped at her. Velvet looked down at this.

“I didn’t forget. Of course I didn’t. You don’t have to be so cruel,” she pouted.

“Vox. She is right,” Valentino cut in. Vox rolled his eyes and drank his expresso.

“I came here because I heard you had woken up,” Velvet told Valentino.

“You heard? How? Vox hadn’t texted you… did he?” Valentino questioned. Velvet shook her head.

“Nope. Shadow saw you two walking to the café and called me to let me know you were awake,” Velvet replied to him.

“That makes sense,” he said. Vox could tell that Valentino was relieved that Shadow knew he was alright. No doubt Shadow had been extremely worried about Valentino as well.

“How are you feeling?” Velvet asked. Valentino shrugged.

“I don’t know. I feel alright. A little sick, but nothing life-threatening,” he told her. She nodded.

“Good. You need to start taking better care of yourself. Maybe even…” she began, however, the bell from the PA system went off.

“If either Mr. Valentino and Ms. Shadow could come to the main office, please. Mr. Valentino and Ms. Shadow,” the PA system called. Valentino let out a sigh.

“Also, if Ms. Velvet and Mr. Vox could join them please,” added another voice on the PA system. Velvet quickly finished her drink and Valentino gulped down his expresso with a remorseful expression on his face.

“No rest for the wicked, huh?” he commented. Vox and Velvet sighed.

“No. It would seem not,” Vox muttered. They all stood up, put the money for the tip on the table, and they left the café to head to the office.

By the time they arrived, Shadow was already there. Valentino saw a snake demon sitting in the office across from where Shadow was. They walked into the office and Velvet shut the door behind her. Shadow bowed her head politely to the three overlords and gave Valentino a shy smile. He smiled back at her.

“Thank you for meeting here with me today,” the snake demon said.

“What is the meaning of this? I am an extremely busy man, and I do not like being disturbed. My time is money,” growled Valentino.

 _“Back to his old self then,”_ Vox thought.

“My Master has requested a meeting with you three, and has instructed me to have Shadow run the studio during the time of your absence,” the snake demon told them.

“And who is your master?” Vox asked.

“Lord Lucifer, sir,” the snake demon answered. Everyone in the room froze at the mention of the king of Hell.

“What is the subject of this meeting?” Valentino asked.

“My Master wishes to discuss each of your businesses. He also wishes to discuss plans for the annual gala taking place next month. There are new arrangements that must be made, and he wishes to run a few of the plans by you three,” replied the snake demon.

“By us?” Velvet asked.

“Yes. My Lord is speaking with the other overlords at separate times. He is to meet with Alastor and Rosie later in the week and the Von Eldritch family next week. He also has a meeting set with Prince Stolas following the meeting with the three of you,” the snake demon informed them.

 _“Well, that makes sense. It would be a stupid idea to have all of us meet at the same time,”_ thought Vox. He never understood why Lucifer insisted every year on having the annual gala. He supposed it was for some sort of peace thing, or public relations thing, but Vox thought it was a powder keg waiting to explode. So many demons that hate each other in one room. It was idiotic. Plus, the event itself was horrid. It was mostly gossip and false niceness. Acting like you could tolerate the demons you had to interact with. Then there was this ridiculous speech from the king himself and more meaningless bickering among the overlords. Yet it was a mandatory event and they all had to attend, or risk losing their position as an overlord. To do that meant certain death. A fact everyone in Hell knew. That did not mean, however, that any of them actually enjoyed the event. Well… Alastor was probably the only overlord that actually enjoyed the gala. This was mostly because of his sadistic interest in watching the overlords struggle to keep themselves from tearing the others apart. Vox knew, however, that it was hard for Alastor too because if given the chance, he would glad tear Vox apart without hesitation.

“When does the King wish to meet with us?” Valentino asked.

“Right now, actually,” replied the snake demon. Valentino sighed and looked over at Shadow.

“Can you handle things here while we are gone?” Valentino asked her. Shadow nodded at this.

“Yes sir,” she replied. He gave her a nod then turned back to the snake demon.

“Then we shall be outside in a few minutes,” he told the demon, who bowed as he stood up.

“Very well then. I shall have the car ready and awaiting you three,” the snake demon told them. He then excused himself from the room. Vox, Velvet, and Valentino all exited the room after the snake demon. They began to walk to the upper level of the studio to grab weapons. They were not worried about Lucifer attacking them. He would not risk attacking all three of them before that gala. Lucifer could win that, sure, but having to appoint three new overlords would be a nightmare. Especially when all three ran some of the biggest industries in Hell. No. They were worried about being ambushed in the limousine. If that happened, they wanted to be prepared.

“It is odd that the King is asking for the three of us at the same time this year. Normally he always asks for us individually if he even asks at all,” Vox commented. Velvet nodded.

“That is true. I wonder if he is busy dealing with his daughter and her hotel. This is the first year that little project is running during the time of the gala, and that could cause a lot of problems for the royal family,” Velvet suggested. Vox and Valentino nodded at this.

“That would make sense. If she begins promoting her project at the gala, some overlords might not be so proper about it. They might even move to attack depending on their stance on it,” Valentino said. Vox knew he was right. Some of the overlords were neutral on the hotel or thought it was just some joke. But others hated the hotel with a passion. Some thought it would be a threat to their own businesses. Vox remembered that when the hotel had begun, Valentino had felt that way about it. Especially when Angel had been her first client. Valentino was terribly worried about the possible repercussion of that. Luckily for all of them, Angel had been in a turf war during the broadcast and had managed to keep up his bad-boy routine without a push from Valentino. Despite Valentino’s personal stance on it, Vox knew that he was smart enough not to do anything to harm the princess, even if his business was in danger. Some of the other overlords or Goetial demons would not be as good about keeping their composure. The Von Eldritch family was especially prone to voicing their opinions when it came to other higher up families. The V-Club had had their own issues with the Von Eldritch family. Especially the daughter, Helsa Von Eldritch. It also did not help that Vox had slept with her brother, Seviathan, after he had broken up with Charlie. It was a rebound thing for both of them and had meant nothing, however, Helsa had never quite forgiven Vox for that. She always assumed Vox was using it was a power move to get into the Von Eldritch family. That was not true at all. He had just had a heartbreak and needed a distraction. So had Seviathan, and the two naturally just gravitated towards each other. Neither hated each other after, however, Helsa seemed to hate both for it. Vox didn’t frankly care, however, he did pity Seviathan for having to deal with that every day. Either way, he knew Helsa was a loose cannon that would explode at Charlie for no reason other than the fact that she did not like Charlie. If things got complicated about the hotel between the two daughters… Vox knew things could go south fast.

“I am sure Lilith and Lucifer will make sure Charlie doesn’t do anything dumb,” Velvet mumbled.

“You really think that? Honestly, I think they would make it some big lesson for her. Something about keeping your reputation above your dreams or something like that,” Vox told her. Velvet sighed at this.

“Probably. That would not surprise me at all,” Velvet replied to him.

“The snake demon did not happen to say if Lilith would be at the meeting, did he?” Valentino asked. His voice was quiet and he was looking straight ahead. Vox and Velvet both thought back on this.

“I don’t think he did,” Velvet answered.

“Oh… alright then,” said Valentino as he continued walking. They reached the upper level and all began to grab the lightest weapons they could find. As they searched, Velvet made her way over to Vox.

“Hey… is Val ok?” she asked him. Vox sighed and shook his head.

“I don’t think so, to be honest. He has been having flashbacks more and more often. He gets all worked up about things that should have no hold on his mind,” Vox whispered to her.

“Like stuff with Angel?” Velvet questioned.

“Like stuff with Angel,” confirmed Vox.

“Do you think it is good that he is thinking about that?” Velvet asked. “I just mean…” began Velvet, but Vox cut her off.

“I know what you mean, but no. I don’t think it is good. Pity and sympathy have no place in an overlord’s heart. We cannot afford to feel those things. We don’t have the luxury of feeling like that. If he starts being kinder and kinder to his workers, they will either leave or rebel against him. Valentino cannot afford to let his guard down,” Vox spat at her. Velvet recoiled.

“I know… but sometimes I wish it was not like that for us. I wish we could just be like Charlie,” she whispered.

“What do you mean?” Vox asked.

“Look at her, Vox. Fighting for redemption. Fighting for another life. A second chance. Why shouldn’t we want that? Why is that such a joke to everyone here?” Velvet questioned.

“You are speaking nonsense, Velvet. You and I both know redemption is not possible,” he growled. She looked away from him.

“Yeah. You are probably right. Still though… it would be nice to be able to act like we care about other people once in a while,” she told him. He looked away from her and picked up a few weapons.

He knew exactly how she felt. He wanted to show his feelings too. He wanted to have just one moment where he could show weakness. He wanted just one moment where he could be his true self. But they all had roles they were supposed to play. All had things they were supposed to do or ways they were supposed to act.

Vox: The cruel and sadistic host of the leading television show of Hell

Velvet: The psychotic and hyper. A social media addict who ran the most popular carnival of Hell.

Valentino: The seductive yet cold owner of Hell’s most popular studio, the Porn Studio.

Those were the roles that they were supposed to play. Those were the ones that everyone loved. Or loved to hate at least. They were feared and respected. Cared about and hated. People worshiped the very ground they walked on. People wanted to be them or wanted to be with them. Yet no one really ever knew them. Everyone thought they did, but even they did not know each other. Vox wondered, after putting on an act for so long for everyone else, if they even knew themselves.

But that was just how things were down in Hell. You could not show emotions, because that was a sign of weakness. All of them had learned that one way or another, and all of them knew the pain that it had brought. So, they continued to act in their roles and play their parts. As if Hell were a stage and they were merely actors upon that stage. As much as all three hated it, they had to do it in order to survive. Keeping with that, he could never tell Velvet how sorry he was for taking on such a tone. Not when she turned away to hide the tears he knew were spilling from those bright pink eyes. Not when he could hear how her breathing had changed because she was choking back sobs. No. He could not even tell his best friend how sorry he was that he made her cry, because he did not know how to express that anymore.

The three finished grabbing their weapons and waited outside for the car. It came around the building within five minutes of them arriving outside. They entered the car and saw that the back was empty. The driver was a smaller owl demon, however, there was no sign of the snake demon.

“Maybe our driver got a little hungry,” joked Velvet. Vox and Valentino tried to hold back their laughter, however, they failed, and the back of the limo was filled with the howling laughter of all three of them. They continued to fill the limo ride to the palace with various jokes and happy memories. Vox welcomed the distraction from the heavy conversation earlier. The ride was quite long from the studio to the palace, and Velvet actually fell asleep on Valentino. Valentino fell asleep as well, and Vox had to wake them both up when the limo pulled up to the palace. Valentino straightened out his outfit and Velvet tried her best to make herself look presentable. The three of them exited the limousine as the owl demon held the door open for them. They entered the palace and all three blinked a few times in surprise as they saw Charlie there to greet them.

“Hi there! I hope you are all well! My dad is upstairs waiting for you all!” greeted Charlie.

“Thank you, my Lady,” Velvet told her.

“You can just call me Charlie if you want, and it is no problem at all” exclaimed Charlie with a smile. Velvet smiled a little and she made her way upstairs. Vox and Valentino followed her. They continued walking to a large meeting room at the end of the hallway and stopped outside the door.

“Come in,” boomed Lucifer’s voice from outside of the room. Vox opened the door and dropped to one knee. Valentino and Velvet followed his movement, bowing their heads in respect.

“Thank you for inviting us to your humble abode, my Lord,” Valentino said.

“Yes, yes. Don’t waste my time. Get up,” growled Lucifer. All three shot up with lightning speed and they took their seats in the meeting room.

“You wished to discuss our businesses and plans for the gala?” Vox asked. Lucifer nodded at this.

“Yes. That is correct. I suppose we should begin with the gala plans. Valentino, I want you to bring a few of your performers for rent at the gala. Vox, I want you to set up a few of your programs to run during the gala. We will have televisions set up around the room in case people wish to watch them. Velvet, I want a few of your little games outside for the lower demons that overlords may bring with them,” Lucifer told them. All three nodded at this.

“Yes my Lord,” they said at the same time.

“That is all I wanted to cover with the gala. I shall be hosting it a week before the extermination. Just like every year. That still works, yes?” Lucifer informed them. The question was clearly rhetorical, as they all knew the consequences of saying no.

“Yes. That works fine,” Vox said, replying for all of them.

“Wonderful. In that case, let us move on to your businesses. Velvet, I see that your carnival’s numbers have remained steady. I do see, however, that the family business of Blitzo has always been raising in their numbers as well. What do you plan to do about this?” Lucifer asked. Velvet bit her lip nervously.

“W…well… we have a few big events planned for later in the year, and before the extermination, we are planning to do a huge party to boost morale,” replied Velvet. Lucifer nodded.

“Good. Good. I am very glad to hear that,” Lucifer said. He then turned to face Vox.

“Your shows have been doing extremely well. The pilot greeting program seems to have taken off remarkably,” commented Lucifer. The Devil was referring to the fact that Vox had done a series of recordings to greet new people coming into Hell. He had been approached about this new program by Lilith and had taken the offer. The program had been a success and had brought him quite a bit of success and popularity among the newer demons of Hell.

“Thank you, my Lord. I am glad you feel that way,” he told him.

“I want you to continue that greeting program. Maybe spice it up a little, but do not stress yourself with it,” he instructed. Vox nodded at this.

“Of course,” Vox said. Lucifer then turned to face Valentino.

“I have to say, I am disappointed in you, Valentino,” Lucifer muttered. Vox saw Valentino freeze up and he felt awful for him. “Your numbers have dropped by 3% over the last year. People are finding your videos quite… repetitive. They are growing bored with your material. You have to find something new. Or… post something a little older…” suggested Lucifer. Valentino swallowed hard.

“D… do you mean…” Valentino stammered. Lucifer nodded.

“Yes. I want you to feature yourself in a few more of your videos. I want you to record yourself more often. People enjoy that. People want to see you. Hmm… maybe you and that spider demon. What is his name?” Lucifer began.

“Angel Dust,” Velvet cut in. Lucifer nodded.

“Yes. Angel Dust. That would be a lovely combination. Viewers love both of you, and they would kill to see more of that material. Literally kill, sometimes,” Lucifer told him.

“My Lord… with all due respect… I haven’t featured myself in something new in quite some time… and I really don’t…” began Valentino, however, Lucifer cut him off swiftly.

“No need to worry. I understand your hesitation. You are out of practice. I figured that that might be an issue would you face. Which I why I had my lovely wife Lilith go out today for some shopping, and my dearest Charlie is at her hotel. Or should be by now,” Lucifer told him. He then looked at Velvet and Vox.

 _“Please don’t tell us to leave. Please don’t tell us to leave,”_ thought Vox with horror in his eyes.

“I am done with you both. You may take your leave now. If you wish to wait for Valentino, you may wait outside of the meeting room,” Lucifer ordered. Velvet bowed and left the room. Vox hesitated for a moment. He saw the defeat in Valentino’s eyes. Lucifer’s eyes widened with an unimpressed look. “I said leave. Are you deaf now?” growled the King. Vox shook his head.

“N… no. I heard you,” Vox muttered. He left the room without bowing. He could not bring himself to fake it. As he shut the door, he saw Lucifer moving towards Valentino as he began to undress. Valentino was wearing a smug expression, but Vox knew he was masking his fear.

Vox and Velvet waited outside the room for three hours. Neither of them spoke a word to each other the entire time. Velvet was trying her best to drown out the sounds coming from the room. She had earbuds in and was scrolling through her videos that she had saved. Vox could not have been bothered to try to drown out the sounds. He was too horrified by the situation. Had the King invited them just so he could do this with Valentino? Vox knew how much this would hurt Valentino. If he was having flashbacks of when he worked at the studio… then this new order from the Devil would destroy him. And Vox betted that Lucifer knew how much this would break Valentino too. Vox did not know why Lucifer would want to break Valentino, but he did know that this would break him.

Valentino stumbled out of the room after three hours. He was barely able to walk, and Vox could see blood around his mouth. The white areas of his clothing were red in parts. Vox could see the whip marks through the fabric. The bite marks too. Valentino tried his best to walk to the limousine. He said nothing as he made his way to the limousine. He accepted no help from either Velvet or Vox. The limousine ride back was filled with heavy air and silence. When they arrived back at the studio, Shadow rushed up to Valentino and hugged him. Valentino hugged her back and they both disappeared to his office. Vox blitzed through the club into his side office and slammed the door shut.

“DAMN IT!” he screamed as he threw a chair across the office. Velvet knocked on the door and he sighed. “Come in,” he told her. She opened the door and took a seat.

“Hey… Voxy… you ok?” she asked him.

“Why are you not comforting Valentino? He was the one… who… he was the one Lucifer hurt,” growled Vox.

“Shadow is up there with him now. No one was with you though, and you looked really upset,” Velvet replied.

“Of course I am upset, Velvet! Lucifer just took advantage of Valentino and is forcing him back into being on film! Do you have any idea how much that will destroy him?!” shouted Vox. Velvet moved to place a hand on his shoulder, however, Vox flinched away.

“Vox… it seems like more than that. You look more upset than I’ve ever seen you. What is going on? Please tell me. We are friends,” pleaded Velvet.

“I can’t…” he softly winced.

“You can tell me anything. You know that. I will never judge you!” insisted Velvet. “Just talk to me…” she began. Vox cut her off, however, when he told her the secret he had never dared confess to anyone. One that he was so sick of holding in and he could not hold back anymore.

“I am pissed off because Lucifer just slept with Valentino and discarded him like it was nothing! I am pissed off because he shared that moment of intimacy with Valentino and then acted as if nothing happened! Like it did not matter! Just like… just… just like how Alastor did to me years ago, ok?!” he shouted. Velvet froze at this.

“Vox… what are you saying? Did you… were you… were you interested in Alastor?” Velvet questioned. Vox turned away.

“A while ago, yeah. But he hurt me in a way no one ever hurt me before here… and he… he broke a part of me I can’t fix now,” he muttered.

“Vox… I’m so sorry…” she began.

“It is just what happens to people like us. We don’t get love. We are overlords,” he snapped. She moved once again to comfort him, however, he pushed her away. He stormed out of the studio, got in his car, and drove off. As he drove, memories began to flood back to him. Memories he had pushed down for a very long time, but could no longer hold back.


	8. Before You Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the first Vox flashback of the tale, Vox remembers his rise to the overlord status, as well as his relationship with the Radio Demon, Alastor. Though the tale might begin with happiness... not all stories get a happy ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: There is a part in the story where Vox begins swearing at Alastor. I normally try to avoid cursing in my stories, however I wanted to express how hurt Vox was by what Alastor does and felt like he would be the sort to explode that way. 
> 
> That said, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

_Vox had been an overlord for quite some time now. 10 years Earth time almost. Since his rise to power, he had gained many supporters and many followers. He had gained fame fast around pretty much every corner of Hell. There was not a person in Hell who had not heard of him, or who had not seen his programs. It was always a big deal when someone became a new overlord. It was on every single news station and it was the talk of Hell for a few days. After that, Vox had worked hard to maintain his image and status._

_In Hell, there were only a few ways that you could become an overlord. One way was to be born into a family that had an overlord in it, and if that overlord were to die, then you could take their place if they had previously stated you were to inherit the rights to taking their place. This was the least common way to become an overlord, due to the fact that few demons could actually become with child, and few children survived past their first few birthdays. There were exceptions to this, of course, but you had to have friends in very high places in order to keep your child safe. The other way to become an overlord was to have an overlord give up their status to you while they are still living. This was the next most unlikely scenario and only pretty much happened when an overlord had ruined their reputation enough somehow that they needed to make a quick escape out of the limelight. Still though, that was very rare because most overlords watched what they did and said very carefully in order to avoid such a thing from happening. This left one other option of how a demon could reach overlord status._

_You could kill a current overlord. This was the quickest and most effective way to become an overlord. The first way to become an overlord did mess with this a little, but most demons would not challenge you if you were the one that killed the previous overlord. If an overlord died in an extermination, then maybe someone would try and claim the right to be their heir. But if they were killed by another demon… that was a whole different story. It was hard to kill an overlord. Most were very powerful and even if they themselves were not, they had protection. Demons who were very powerful and very quick to kill anyone that seemed like a threat. Only a few were relatively unprotected, and even these were hard to kill. But not impossible to kill by any means, and this was how Vox had achieved his status as an overlord._

_When Vox had first arrived in Hell, he was quick shocked to find that his head was now a television screen and his body had electricity flowing through it. It took him some time to adjust to life like this, however once he had, he began finding ways to take advantage of these newfound gifts. He started a small broadcasting company in order to try and get himself some money and a small amount of fame. It was an alright job, but nothing special. It was buried by the bigger stations and the bigger companies, but during those times in his past, there was not much he could do about it._

_When he was not running his show, Vox was working with an instructor who taught him how to fight and how to use his abilities as a television demon in order to take down enemies. Vox had told his instructor it was for self-defence, but this was a lie. Vox had been planning on finding an overlord he could easily take down, and once he was ready, he was going to make his move. So, he trained hard every single day and never missed a class. He mastered his skills and soon enough, his instructor informed him that there was nothing else left he could teach Vox. Vox thanked his instructor and then gave him a swift and clean death. There was really no reason for Vox to have done that, however at the time, he felt it was better to make sure the teacher could never surpass his student again._

_After his training had finished, Vox had done extensive research into what types of demons all of the overlords where, what their lives were like, how much security and protection they had, and how easy it would be to kill them. He had found that there were not many who made easy targets, however there was two or three he could probably kill without a terrible amount of difficulty. There was an eel demon who had become an overlord a little while back. He was a cocky fellow who did not have too much security around him. Vox supposed this was because he felt no one could harm him. Vox was going to prove him wrong in that regard._

_Vox tracked down the eel overlord and waited until he was alone. The overlord made it easy for Vox when he traveled down an abandoned alleyway in order to try and get home. Vox followed behind the overlord and then the overlord stopped._

_“I see you decided to make your move finally,” the overlord told him. Vox froze. Maybe he had underestimated the eel. Maybe he was going to make an example out of Vox. The eel overlord turned to face Vox with a smile on his face. Only… it was a tired smile._

_“Listen, this was a dumb mistake. I’ll just be on my way and…” Vox began, but the overlord raised a hand to silence Vox._

_“I know you came here to kill me. I know you want to become an overlord. Well, guess what? The position is open for you to take,” the overlord told him. Vox blinked a few times in surprise._

_“You are… giving it to me?” asked Vox. The overlord laughed at this._

_“No, you idiot. I am asking you to kill me,” the overlord snapped._

_“WHAT?!” exclaimed Vox. He was certain that this must have been some sort of trick, until the overlord pulled out an angelic blade from his coat._

_“I am asking you to kill me. I don’t want this anymore. I’m tired. I can’t do this. I thought I could. Hell, I wanted this position so badly. But now… now I can’t stand it. All the cocky attitude and all the false faces I have to put on for people. No. It is not worth it anymore,” he told Vox. He walked over and handed the blade to Vox._

_“You… you are serious?” Vox asked. The overlord gave him a sad little smile and a nod._

_“Yes. I am dead serious. Well, soon to be dead, anyhow. So please. Do it,” begged the overlord. Vox nodded at this._

_“Any last requests or anything?” Vox said._

_“Just make it quick please,” whispered the overlord. Vox nodded at this and he slit the overlord’s throat with ease. Turns out his training had been a waste of time in terms of becoming an overlord, because he had only needed to wield a blade provided to him by the very person he was aiming to kill. At the time, Vox had not understood why the overlord was so desperate for Vox to kill him, but now, after being an overlord for a while, Vox understood._

_Life as an overlord was a lonely life. You could not trust demons. Well, that was a given, but at least most of the time, you could make a tight inner circle of you and a few others. But when you were an overlord, that was hardly an option. The way Vox saw it, close inner circles meant death. Everyone wanted to kill you when you were an overlord. They wanted the power that you had, and that included people who were already overlords. Sure, they did not need to gain any status, but it never hurt to get more turf or show off your power. So, life as an overlord was one of solitude._

_Sure, overlords were often loved throughout Hell in terms of their work, but not in terms of who they were. Vox was no exception to this rule. He worked harder on his television programs, and now that he was an overlord, he could broadcast across even more platforms. People began to know his name and they began to love him. To fear him. To loathe him. But they knew who he was, and that was all Vox needed. It was all he could dream of, because he had given up on the hopes of friendship and the hopes of love. He lived his life by his work, and that was enough._

_For a while, at least. But even a demon can only live like that for so long._

_Soon enough, Vox began to feel like something was missing in his life. He began to feel like his world was just a loop of the same things. Wake up. Film something for the show. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. He grew tired of it all. The worst part was that he could not tell anyone about it. He had to put on a smile and strike a pose for the audience. He understood what the overlord had meant about the cocky attitude being a false face. For he had taken on one as well. And it was draining._

_Vox had never been a very outgoing person in terms of social gatherings and things. He could survive them, sure, but he never liked them. He just acted like he was having a good time and tried to make it through the event without killing anyone. This became a lot more literal when he arrived in Hell and you could actually almost kill someone because they said something rude and you would not be arrested or punished for it by any authorities. Still though, Vox was worried it would reflect poorly if he began attacking people at random simply because he was annoyed. And he did not want to risk attacking the wrong person with higher up friends. So, he tried his best to keep cool at all the parties he was invited to. It was at one such party he met the person who would change, and ruin, his life forever._

_Vox had been dragged to a party by one of the people that worked for him on his shows. They were like a manager of sorts for his enterprise, so when she suggested going to the party, he agreed to go because she told him it would be good for public relations. There were rumors that the 666 news would be broadcasting and that they would be doing interviews with the overlords. She wanted him to do one of the interviews in order to boost up popularity among some of the newer demons. Vox told her he would do it and they went to the party._

_The party itself was being hosted at the house of the Von Eldritch family. The parents of the family were away, so Helsa and Seviathan thought it would be a good idea to throw a party. They invited all of the overlords and demanded that there would be no fighting resulting in lasting injuries during the party. Everyone had agreed to these terms, seeing as the Von Eldritch family held a lot of power in Hell and upsetting them was a death wish. Vox and his manager arrived at the party half-an-hour before it was set to start. His manager had suggested that that was also good for their reputations and as much as Vox resisted this at first, he caved in. The two of them greeted the Von Eldritch siblings politely, and Vox did not miss it when Seviathan gave him a wink. Vox waited until Helsa was looking away to wink back. He regretted this right away, however, when a young demoness with blonde hair rushed up and kissed Seviathan. His girlfriend, by the looks of it. Though she did not seem to notice the tension between Vox and Seviathan, Vox felt kind of bad for winking at a man who was already taken. He did his best to shake the thought out of his mind and continue on his way._

_His manager eventually abandoned him in order to speak with the overlords who were slowly arriving to the party. Vox had grabbed a glass of wine from a waitress and was sitting in the corner of the dining room. He was watching the clock with desperation. Practically begging for the party to be over before it had even started._

_“Is this seat taken?” asked a voice from beside him. Vox turned to see a dapper fellow dressed in a red pin-striped suit. The man was holding a microphone and looked to be a deer demon, judging by the fluffy ears and the small tail. Vox groaned a little bit. He recognized the man’s voice. This was the Radio Demon, Alastor. One of the few demons in Hell to keep his human name, or at least to use it on a regular basis. This was not the only reason Vox disliked Alastor though. It was also because the man was obsessed with technology that Vox considered to be ancient. Vox did not understand why Alastor continued to host Radio broadcasts when there was much more effective technology. Though from what he heard, Alastor refused to learn about new technology. Vox despised this about the man._

_However, Vox was not a stupid man in the slightest. He heard about the Radio Demon’s reputation, and while he would never say it aloud, it was a rather impressive reputation indeed. From how he had heard it, the Radio Demon had made a swift rise to power, broadcasting his carnage all over Hell for everyone to hear. That was how he got the nickname in the first place. He was a powerful demon, though no one knew for sure where all this power came from, or why Alastor had not moved against the royal families in charge of Hell. Everyone was just grateful that he had stopped his rise to power (or seemed to have stopped, at least) when he reached his status as the most powerful overlord in Hell. So, Vox knew better than to make the mistake of messing with Alastor. He nodded and signalled for Alastor to sit._

_“So… are you excited for the party to start?” Vox asked, trying to pass the time by making small talk. Alastor let out a small chuckle._

_“To be perfectly honest with you… no. Not really,” replied Alastor. Vox gave him a shocked reaction._

_“Really?!” exclaimed the television demon. Alastor nodded._

_“Really. Though these parties can sometimes be a good source of entertainment, they are often very bothersome. I only come to these because I have to. Had I known that I would have to attend all these parties, I might have chosen another status rather than becoming an overlord,” answered Alastor. He chuckled a little to himself. “My apologize. You must think I am rather silly,” he added. Vox shook his head._

_“No. Not at all. I was thinking the same thing. I mean, not exactly the same, but somewhat the same. If that makes sense,” Vox told Alastor. Alastor smiled softly at Vox and Vox felt his screen going red. He turned away nervously._

_“I am sorry, but I do not think I caught your name,” Alastor said. He held out his hand for Vox to shake. “I am the Radio Demon, but please call me Alastor. Or Al. Whichever you prefer is fine by me,” introduced Alastor. Vox smiled and shook Alastor’s hand._

_“It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Vox. I don’t really have any nicknames other than the television demon, but I kind of hate that one,” Vox greeted. This earned a laugh from Alastor._

_“I suppose the Radio Demon is not a very creative name either, though I do not mind it all that much. People have gotten used to calling me it, so I got used to being called it,” Alastor admitted. Vox looked down at the ground._

_“Um… I don’t know if you have plans for the party today… but um… if you don’t… maybe we could waste away this party together?” suggested Vox. Alastor’s eyes widened in surprise, but then he smiled._

_“I would love nothing more,” replied Alastor. And that is exactly what the two of them did. They both spent the entire party together and for once, Vox enjoyed the party. He and Alastor spoke about a variety of topics. From the food at the party to their shows. From the weird weather in Hell to gossip about the other overlords._

_Vox never once felt like he had to change himself around Alastor. He felt happy. He felt safe. Like he could speak his mind and Alastor would never judge him for it. He was not sure why, considering they had just met, but he felt a great sadness when the party was over. As the two of them began to head to the door, Alastor turned to him._

_“I really enjoyed this evening, Vox. I… I am not sure if you felt the same way about it… but I would love to get a chance to know you more,” spoke Alastor in a soft voice. Vox smiled brightly at this._

_“I would love that too. Did you want to meet up tomorrow?” Vox asked. He then blushed. “I mean, if tomorrow is too soon, we can meet another time. Not that tomorrow would be too soon!” he nervously added. Alastor chuckled a little at this, and Vox thought it sounded like the chuckle you hear in those cheesy romantic comedy movies. He did not mind it though. He thought it was rather cute._

_“You are an awfully silly person, Vox. Tomorrow works fine for me. Come meet me at my radio station. You will know where to find it,” replied Alastor as he boarded his limousine. Vox waved to him as the limousine drove off into the distance, and he then let out a sigh._

_“So, I see you got close with the Radio Demon. Strategic move!” encouraged his manager. Vox turned away from her._

_“Yeah. Strategic,” he muttered. He knew that it was more than that though. He enjoyed the time he had spent with Alastor, and he could not wait to see him again._

_The days passed like that for a while. Alastor and Vox would meet up and they would spend hours together. Sometimes Vox would meet Alastor at his work, and sometimes Alastor would meet Vox at his workplace. Sometimes they would meet in a neutral location to spice it up a little. It really did not matter though, for the feelings were the same for Vox each time. He longed for those moments when he and Alastor would hang out, and the moments between felt bland and weak. It was like Alastor was the light in his life, and when he left, darkness surrounded Vox once more. But those moments with Alastor meant the world to Vox. And as they spent more and more time together, Vox began to realize the truth of the situation._

_He was falling in love with Alastor._

_As much as he hated to admit that to himself, he knew that it was the truth. For when he was with Alastor, he felt giddy and free. Anything Alastor joked about was funny. Even if it was not actually funny, Vox would find it funny because Alastor had said it. Alastor always had this ability to make him smile. Even if Vox had a horrible day and felt awful, Alastor was still able to bring a smile to his face. Vox tried his best to do this for Alastor too. They even began this little tradition. If one of them was sad, the other would smile brightly and say,_

_“Smile. You know you are never fully dressed without one!”_

_That was their thing. The two of them did that to cheer each other up, and it worked like a charm every time. It was not the only thing they shared, however. They had their songs and their places. Things that meant the world to the two of them. If one of them was alone, these things would remind them of the other person. At least, that is what Vox assumed was happening for both of them. It was, naturally, what he had thought. Because when you are in love and the other person acts the exact same way, you assume they truly feel that way. Especially when that person confesses their love to you._

_It was a winter’s day and ashes were falling from the sky. It was the hellish equivalent to snow. It took some getting used to, but Vox and Alastor were both used to it by now. They had spent enough time in Hell to know to avoid getting it into your eyes. Well, that was not really an issue for Vox. His screen protected his eyes from the ash, however Alastor had learned to avoid the falling particles as best as he could. Vox was carrying an umbrella and holding it over Alastor as the two walked to a park nearby. Once they had arrived there, Vox set down the picnic basket and put the umbrella over them and the basket. He pulled out the sandwiches and put them onto the small glass plates. He was pouring the wine when he noticed that Alastor was unusually quiet._

_“Are you ok?” Vox asked. Alastor turned away, avoiding Vox’s gaze._

_“No. Not really, my dear,” replied Alastor in a quiet voice. Vox raised his eyebrow at this._

_“Hey. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” comforted Vox. Alastor took in a deep breath._

_“Vox, we are close friends, right?” asked Alastor._

_“Of course! We have shared so much together. Why?” questioned Vox._

_“Vox… my dear friend… I… I seem to have… developed feelings for you,” Alastor told him. Vox blinked a few times. He set down the wine in order to keep himself from spilling it in surprise._

_“You… what are you saying to me?” asked Vox. He was praying inside that he was not misinterpreting what Alastor was telling him. Alastor drew in another breath._

_“Vox, I think I am in love with you. I know that might seem odd. I don’t normally fall in love. I… I have never been in love before… but I think I love you,” he told Vox. Alastor had tears in his eyes and he was looking at Vox with wide eyes. “Please don’t let this ruin our friendship,” begged Alastor. Vox immediately hugged Alastor. He knew the deer demon was not the biggest fan of physical contact, however he was too overcome by his emotions in that moment to stop himself._

_“I am sorry for invading your space, but I cannot help myself. Forgive me for this please, but I love you too,” Vox whispered out through his tears. He could not stop himself from crying. He hated crying because it always felt weird with his screen. It felt like glitches, but in that moment, he did not care at all. For he was happier than he had ever thought possible._

_“Do you mean that? Truly and honestly?” asked Alastor. Vox lifted Alastor’s chin softly and forced the Radio Demon to look him in the eyes._

_“Yes. I love you with all my heart. I have from the first moment I met you,” Vox assured him. Alastor hugged him back tightly._

_“I am so relieved to hear that you feel the same. And about the hug… I don’t mind this at all,” Alastor told Vox. The two of them stayed like that for a while before returning to their picnic._

_After that, Vox and Alastor were nearly inseparable. The two partnered up with their shows, but most of the time Vox would join Alastor’s radio show, because he still could not convince Alastor to use the modern technology. Though, Vox did not mind this as much now. He supposed it was just not in Alastor’s comfort zone, and that was fine. He did not wish to push Alastor into doing anything he did not want to do. This was not only true for technology though. The two of them were taking things relatively slow in terms of their intimate life as well. And that was perfectly fine with Vox. Vox had always been a little bit nervous when it came to sexual activities. He had never been with anyone that way. Not when he was in Hell, and not when he was on Earth either. He had avoided it, though if he were to be honest with himself, he was not quite sure why he had this fear of it. He supposed it was just a fear of something unknown, but even still, he was glad that things were moving slowly. Alastor would always ask before doing anything, and Vox was the same. They would ask before holding hands or kissing, and one night, Alastor had asked Vox if he was interested in ever taking things further._

_“I know you have hesitations about it, but… well… I was just wondering if you would ever consider maybe moving things to the next stage in our relationship. If not, that is completely fine. I understand,” Alastor had said to him one night while they were getting ready for bed. Vox slipped into warm covers of the bed and snugged up beside Alastor._

_“I suppose that I would not mind if we moved things into a new area of our relationship. You should know though that I do not have any experience,” Vox had replied. Alastor chuckled nervously._

_“Neither do I. So, I suppose we will be learning together,” Alastor admitted. Vox turned to face Alastor with a smile._

_“I suppose we shall, and I could not think of a better partner to have my first time with,” Vox told him. Alastor blushed deeply._

_“Why thank you,” he replied._

_“Did you… did you want to do it now?” asked Vox. Alastor looked down, clearly embarrassed._

_“Well… I was thinking of it, if that is ok with you,” replied Alastor. Vox smiled softly at him._

_“That is fine. As long as we take things slow once we start,” Vox answered. Alastor nodded and he gently moved on top of Vox. He began to undress the television and while he did this, Vox saw Alastor admiring his body. Vox took a moment to admire Alastor as well. His perfect features. The way his tail was whipping back and forth. The way he smelled like a strong cologne. The way his smile and eyes seemed to glow within the darkness of the room. His eyes resembled radio dials and instead of being frightened by this, Vox found himself even more attracted to the demon seated atop of him._

_“Are you ready?” asked Alastor when the two of them were fully undressed. Vox nodded at this._

_“Yes. I am,” he had replied, and the two shared the most amazing night of their lives. It was the moment the two became closer than they had ever been before, and it was far from the last time they were that close._

_During that fall of their second year together, Vox and Alastor had slept together and shared intimate moments almost every night. Vox slowly began to lose his fears and worries about intercourse, and Alastor seemed to be enjoying himself quite a bit as well. The two shared many moments outside of the bedroom as well. They continued to work on their shows together, and although they could not announce their relationship in public (dating was frowned upon for overlords), they still spent quite a bit of time together at cafes, parks, public places, and pretty much every other place. They made so many happy memories. The two of them did karaoke together some nights, and on other nights they watched movies. They played guitar and piano (skills Vox was unaware Alastor had until their first few months into the relationship) and they acted like total fools in front of each other. Alastor introduced Vox to a few things that were popular back when he was alive, and Vox tried his best to explain his love for commercials to Alastor, though this did not catch on quite as well. It mattered little though, as Vox had a blast watching Alastor try to understand the modern entertainment system and humor. Overall, it was amazing. At least, it was amazing until the end of that fall. Once fall was over, everything seemed to change._

_Vox had not wanted to admit it to himself, but Alastor was growing distant from him. Alastor began spending less and less time with Vox and Vox began to wonder if he had done something wrong. He tried his best to think about anything he might have done to upset the deer demon. He replayed all of their memories together, but he could not find anything that would have caused Alastor to ignore him or try to create more distance. They had stopped being intimate as well, with Alastor avoiding any physical contact with Vox at all. This made Vox worried because he was scared that he had accidently hurt Alastor physically or mentally in some way. Though, due to the fact that Alastor was avoiding him, it was hard for him to get any answers. It got to the point where it was pretty obvious that Alastor was trying to keep his distance from Vox, and one day during the spring of the next year, Vox raced over to the radio station and frantically knocked on the doo_ _r._

_“Alastor?! Are you in there?! Please! I need to talk to you! Please!” begged Vox as he knocked on the door with all the strength he had. A young woman opened the door. Vox recognized her as a new overlord named Rosie. Famous for the parties that she would throw during the night of the extermination. Also famous for killing her work partners faster than she could get new ones._

_“Hello there. Did you need something?” asked Rosie._

_“Where is Alastor?” demanded Vox. Rosie shrugged._

_“No idea, honey,” replied Rosie._

_“Do you have any idea where he might be?” Vox asked her. He was beginning to grow impatient with her._

_“Now, why would you want to know that? Are you a fan or something?” she asked him. Vox held back a growl._

_“That is cute, but I think you know exactly who I am,” he spat at her. Rosie smirked at him._

_“Now that you mention it… I do think I know who you are. I think you are a sad little pathetic excuse for an overlord that fell in love with the wrong person. I think you are a fool who is crawling around here looking for Alastor when he very clearly does not want to see you. I think you are a worm that has latched onto Alastor because he is the best shot you have at being something,” she shot back._

_“Leech,” said Vox in a flat tone._

_“Pardon?” asked Rosie. Her confusion was clear on her face and Vox laughed._

_“Darling, if you are going to insult me, do it properly, ok? You said I am a worm that is latched onto Alastor. It would be a leech, not a worm. If you mean to say I am sucking him, that is. That is what you were trying to say, right? What? Are you jealous of that? Because I can promise you one thing,” Vox hissed as he walked closer to her. Rosie stepped backwards. She looked afraid now. “I can promise you that I am one hundred times better at everything than you are. And that includes whatever you are picturing me and the Radio Demon doing,” he whispered to her. “Now then, I am going to ask you this one more time, and if you lie to me or give me sass, you will find that I am just as ruthless as the Radio Demon is,” he growled._

_“Try his house. He hasn’t been here yet,” she told him. He stepped back and Rosie dusted off her dress._

_“Now, that was not so hard, was it?” he chuckled. As he began to leave, he heard Rosie laughing. He turned to her._

_“You really are a fool, aren’t you?” she called to him._

_“What is it now?” he grumbled. He was done with her at this point. It was taking everything in him not to kill her right now._

_“You really think that you are as ruthless as the Radio Demon? You are mistaken there, doll. See, there are more ways to hurt someone than just physical torture and death,” she shouted._

_“What is that supposed to mean?” Vox questioned. She giggled._

_“You will see soon enough, I am sure,” she told him. Vox began to panic now._

“Has she done something to Alastor? Did she hurt him? Did she have someone hurt him? What if she got someone to spread some false things about me? What if that is why he is avoiding me? Did she tell him something about me that made him upset? Maybe even scared him off?” _Vox began to think. He took off running and as he ran, he heard Rosie’s laughter echoing from behind him. He tried his best to block it out as he rushed to Alastor’s house. It was only a little way away from the radio station, and Vox knew the way by heart. He had made that journey so many times, but all of those times were with Alastor by his side. He missed those times. He wanted them back, and if someone had hurt Alastor or caused him to hate Vox, then Vox supposed he would just have to make sure that Alastor knew that Vox loved him with everything he had. That he would never do anything to harm Alastor, and that Alastor was the love of his life._

_By the time Vox arrived at Alastor’s house, he was very much out of breath. He had run the whole way there non-stop and his head felt a little light due to this. He only prayed that he had not missed Alastor. That Alastor had not left and taken a different route to work. He knocked on the door of the house._

_“Hello? Alastor? It is Vox. Listen, I know you are probably busy. You are a pretty busy guy, after all. Um… anyhow… um… I need to talk to you. I mean, I think we need to talk. About things,” called Vox. He took a deep breath before he continued. “Alastor please. I love you. Please. If I did something wrong, just tell me. I will try to fix it. Whatever it is that I did, I did not mean to hurt you. If there is anything at all I can do to make it up to you, please tell me and I will do everything in my power to make this right. I don’t want to lose you, Alastor,” Vox cried out as he weakly banged his fist on the door. He fell to the ground. His shaking legs could no longer support him._

“Let him be home. Please. If there is any force in the universe that is listening to me right now, let him be home. Let him open this door and hold me like he held me before. Let him answer me and we can work this out. Please,” _prayed Vox in his head. It was then he saw the outline of a figure walking towards the door. Vox’s eyes widened and he felt his heart soar. He had not seen Alastor in such a long time and even the vague outline of his figure made Vox’s heart beat wildly. He stood up and tried his best to wipe away his tears. Alastor opened the door and gave Vox a confused expression._

_“Vox? Did you… did you run all the way here? You look like a mess,” commented Alastor. Vox laughed weakly at this and he hugged Alastor tightly._

_“I did. I’m sorry I am a mess, but I had to see you. Look, I am so sorry if I did anything to upset you. I know I am not always the easiest person to live with, but I love you. I swear I love you with all I have. So, if it is my temper, I am change that. I can get some sort of help for it. I don’t know if people help with that in Hell, but I will try. I know sometimes I start stupid fights with people while we are out. If that is the problem, I will try my best not to do that. Or is it because I am clingy? Am I clingy? You know what, I probably am. I mean, we spent so much time together before. You probably needed space. If so, we can set some boundaries for our relationship. Time away from each other to breathe. If that is what you need, that is fine by me. Just tell me what you need, and I will make it happen,” said Vox frantically._

_“Vox… my dear…” began Alastor, but Vox’s rambling cut him off._

_“Is it because we are overlords? I get it. It is hard to hide our relationship all the time. It bugged me too. I didn’t say anything because it was just the norm, but if that is it, we can work through that. I heard that sometimes Lilith and Lucifer grant pardons and stuff for favors. We are both influential demons, and I think we could have a good shot at getting them to allow us to date,” suggested Vox._

_“Vox…” began Alastor again but Vox cut him off once more._

_“Is it our images? I know sometimes people make such a fuss about keeping up appearances or stuff, but if I am being fully honest with you, I don’t care about that. I don’t care what people say about me. If they want to say I am weak for falling in love, let them. Because I think it makes me stronger. I think love makes you strong…” began Vox, but it was Alastor’s turn to cut him off._

_“Then you are even more foolish than I thought,” chuckled Alastor. Vox stumbled backwards as Alastor pushed him off forcefully. He straightened up his suit and then smirked at Vox. “Love makes you stronger?! Please! That is the most ridiculous thing I have heard in my life! Oh! Or were you trying to make me laugh? If so, wonderful job! Funny as always,” laughed Alastor. Vox stepped backwards with a hurt expression on his face._

_“Al… what are you talking about?” whispered Vox. Alastor pouted at him in a mocking manner._

_“Poor thing. Do you still not know the truth then? I would have imagined that this time away would allow you to clear your mind and see the truth of the matter, but I suppose you were blinded by love,” teased Alastor._

_“What truth? What is going on?” demanded Vox. Alastor walked towards Vox, and the television demon found himself backing away slowly._

_“Vox dear. What do you know about deer?” Alastor questioned. Vox gave him a confused look._

_“About deer? I… um…” he stuttered._

_“Do you know that, during the fall, deer go into heat, or ruts? Did you also know that that is their mating season and that during that time, they are extremely interested in sexual activities?” asked Alastor._

_“Where are you going with this?” asked Vox, but deep down, he had a feeling he already knew what Alastor was going to say next._

_“I am a deer demon. This is rather bothersome at times. My outward appearance is not horrifying in terms of my deer qualities, but I fixed that with my radio modifications. However, that did not fix things in terms of my deer instincts. For example, if a car were to drive up to me quickly, I would freeze for a second, then I could react. Or… if it is late fall…” began Alastor._

_“You go into heat…” Vox said, finishing the sentence._

_“Exactly! Very good!” exclaimed Alastor. “But it is not easy during heat. Sexual activities never interested me much, but my stupid little form decided it required me to… exercise that activity during heat. Otherwise, it is very pain. So, I sought out someone to assist me with it,” Alastor told Vox._

_“But we were together for two years before then. If you only wanted help with your heat, why not just hire someone to do that?” asked Vox._

_“Because I wanted to have some fun with it. I wanted to see if I could get someone to fall in love with me and then have them help me. After that… well… it has been interesting seeing how heartbreak impacts someone. Tell me Vox. Has it been worse than physical pain? Because the look on your face tells me it is. Knowing that all of those precious moments were a lie. That all I wanted you for was a good time and sex. How does that feel? Knowing that you gave me your heart but all I wanted was your body. Knowing that those precious times we spent together held no real meaning. It was all a lie from the start. All of it. How does it feel?” boasted Alastor. Vox felt his heart shatter like glass when dropped to the ground. He felt light-headed. He felt sick._

“Please let this be some cruel nightmare,” _he thought to himself, but he knew better than that. He knew this was the truth. And it made a certain sick amount of sense. Alastor was the Radio Demon. Known for his torture and cruelty. Vox supposed he just thought that maybe… maybe he was the same as Vox. Putting up a cruel front for others. He never imagined that Alastor could be this cruel, but he supposed that he was wrong._

_“So none of it was real then?” Vox asked._

_“None of it,” replied Alastor. Vox shook his head with a hurt smile on his face. Tears were streaming and he laughed._

_“Oh, that is fucking precious, isn’t it? All I gave you and this is what you do?! You just used me. You sick, manipulative fuck! Do you have any idea how much I loved you?! Alastor you idiot! You were my first love! You were the first person I wanted to be with! The first person that made me feel special! And you ruined all of it! Why me?! Why did you have to court me?! Why could you not have just told me it was about sex in the first place? Why would you do this to me? Why make me fall in love with you? You could have just had someone else. You should have had someone that was only interested in sex too. But you made me feel like the most special man in the entire world. You made me feel loved, and now… now you… you have hurt me beyond compare,” cried Vox. He was also laughing hysterically._

_“Hurt you beyond compare, huh? Well then, I suppose my job here is done. You can go now, you know? I am a busy man and I have to get to work,” Alastor told him casually, as though Vox’s words meant nothing to him. Vox suspected this was very much the case. Alastor walked through the doorway and breezed by Vox. He was heading to the radio station most likely._

_“Wait!” shouted Vox. Alastor turned to him._

_“What is it?” asked Alastor._

_“Alastor… before you go… was there something I could have done to make you love me? To make those feelings real?” pleaded Vox. Alastor chuckled._

_“You foolish, foolish man, Vox. I never loved you, and nothing in this world could make me love such a pathetic creature such as yourself,” replied Alastor. Vox recoiled back as though the words themselves were punches. Alastor smirked at this and continued on his way. Vox stood there for a moment in shook, and then, slowly and with a heavy heart, he made his way home._

_When Vox arrived back to his house, his manager was waiting there. She had come to speak with him about some business related to his show. He waved her off and continued on to his room. He was in no mood to talk business. She hesitated before following him._

_“Lord Vox… forgive me for asking this… but is everything alright?” she questioned. He stopped dead in his tracks._

_“Is everything alright?” he asked as he walked over to her. She began backing away with fears in her eyes._

_“I just…” she started but she let out a small squeak and stopped speaking when her back hit the wall._

_“Let me ask you this, darling. Do I look like I need you to ask how I am? AM I OR AM I NOT AN OVERLORD?!” he screamed._

_“You are,” she whimpered out._

_“Good. Am I or am I not powerful? Do I not intimidate you?” he growled. She began sobbing hard and nodded frantically._

_“Yes. Yes,” she cried in fear. He sighed and forced a smirk._

_“Very good. Do not ever ask me how I am. I am an overlord of Hell. I do not need someone else babying me,” he snapped at her. She nodded again and fell hard to the floor._

_“Please don’t hurt me,” she sobbed out. He rolled his eyes._

_“You are my manager for my show. Losing you would be bothersome,” he muttered. In truth, he felt awful for scaring her like this, but he could never tell her that. He retired to his room and shut the door behind him. When he was sure that she would not come bother him, he collapsed to the floor._

“How could I have been so stupid?! How could I have let myself get hurt like that?!” _Vox thought to himself. Tears streamed and he chocked on his own sobs. He stayed like that until he fell asleep, and in his dreams, he found himself remembering old times with Alastor. Happier times. In some desperate attempt to live within those moments one more time._

_Vox did not come out of his room for weeks after that. No one saw him. Not even his manager. Due to the fact he was a demon, he did not need to eat or drink anything in order to survive, so he could live perfectly fine without leaving his room. Well… not fine, but rather he could survive. But inside, Vox was broken. He did not feel like doing anything. He did not feel like moving. Everything in him felt broken and destroyed. He hated himself. Felt like it was his fault. He looked over the memories over and over again, trying to find something he could have done different. Should he have confessed to Alastor sooner? Was he too desperate? Too clingy? Too distant? Was he not handsome enough? Was he not smart enough? Not talented enough? There had to be something he did wrong. Because when someone ends a relationship with you without warning, you look to yourself and not them. You try to find the fault within yourself, not them. Because it is your heart that broke. Not theirs. While you are sitting alone and wondering what you are doing wrong, you have no way to know if they are feeling that too, or if it never meant that much to them? And sometimes that is worse than the heartbreak itself. The realization that, in truth, they never cared as much as you did. Because they were not even willing to put in the effort to keep the friendship. Vox was struggling with this new reality as he realized not only did Alastor not want him as a boyfriend, but he did not simply want him as a friend either. And that stung. No… not stung. That burned like all the fires of Hell and worse._

_“Vox? Are you in there?” asked a voice from outside the door. He did not recognize it._

_“What do you want?” he snapped._

_“Nice way to treat a fellow overlord,” sassed the voice. Vox stood up, tried to make himself look presentable and he opened the door._

_Standing in the doorway was a demon he did not recognize. She had wild pink and black hair and her reddish pink eyes were wide and had a crazed look to them. Vox saw her smile and was slightly unnerved by it. It looked too big for her face, stretching to her ears. She was wearing a pink, white, and black dress that had hearts on the bottom. It was poufy as well. Her grin stretched even more when she saw Vox, and he had to try his best not to look horrified by the fact the girl’s mouth could expand even more than it already was expanded._

_“Hi there! My name is Velvet! I am a new overlord! I have been going around meeting all the other overlords, but I didn’t get a chance to meet you yet. You know, cause you were hiding in here. Why is that? Why were you in here? Why not come outside? Why are you hiding? Is someone trying to kill you?” she spoke quickly. Vox felt like he needed to take a breath after hearing her speak so quickly._

_“No. I just want to be alone,” he muttered. She pouted at this._

_“Come on! That is so boring! You need to come out and do thing! Oh! I know! Me and a couple pals are going to the porn studio this weekend! You should totally come with!” she suggested. He gave her a disgusted look._

_“No,” he spat. She growled at this. It was an animalistic sound._

_“You got better plans?” she hissed._

_“I’m not interested in women that way,” he told her._

_“Well, I am. And you know they have guys there, right? I heard Manny got this new guy, and he is supposed to be totally hot!” she informed Vox. She pulled out a crumpled flyer for the studio from her pocket and handed it to him. Vox sighed and put the paper in his pocket._

_“You are not leaving until I say yes, are you?” he asked. She shook her head._

_“Nope!” she exclaimed. He sighed again._

_“Fine! I will go, but only to shut you up!” he told her. She squealed in delight at this._

_“Yeah! I will see you this weekend then! Can’t wait! I can already tell you and I are going to be great friends!” she exclaimed as she skipped down the hallway. Vox shut the door to his room and sat down on his bed._

“What a weird girl. Friends huh? I doubt that is going to happen,” _thought Vox as he pulled the paper from his pocket. He blinked a few times when he saw the man on the cover of the flyer. Velvet was not lying when she said he was attractive. Vox admired the image for a little while. He wasn’t anything compared to Alastor, and Vox thought that his costume was a little ridiculous, but he had to admit that the demon was hot._

_“Bon Bon, huh? Wonder if I will get a chance to actually see him while we are there. Probably not, if he is Manny’s new baby,” Vox said to himself. He put the image on his nightstand, tucked into bed, shut off his lamp, and on his ceiling, he began to project memories of him and Alastor. He had a sad smile on his face as he watched their past play out, and he fell asleep watching those moment. As he drifted off into his dreams, he realized something that made his heart break even more:_

_Those moments that he was watching were the only part of Alastor he had left, and he would have to learn to live with that._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a heavy chapter to write. I will admit that I had trouble writing some parts of it. 
> 
> Feel free to write some of your thoughts about it in the comments! I would love to hear what you thought about this chapter!


	9. Author Note before next chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to address this issue, as I felt I had waited too long to say this

Dear Readers,

Thank you all for your support and for your kindness. I have gotten so many supportive messages, and it means so much to me that you are all enjoying the story.

However, there was a matter I wanted to address:

This story is not an Angel X Valentino fanfiction. It started as a request for that, yes, but it is no longer about that. It is meant to explore the pasts of the V gang and the negative impacts they have had on the people around them, as well as why they are the way they are.

I do not ship Angel and Valentino. Their relationship is abusive, toxic, and very unhealthy. As much as I enjoy writing Valentino's character and backstory, I hate him. He is an awful person who has caused unspeakable pain to Angel and probably many others.

This story is NOT meant to glorify him or his actions. What Valentino does is horrible, wrong, and immoral on so many levels. Valentino is a despicable man who has done unspeakable things. This story is in no way meant to support him or things he will do/has done. This story is meant to give a look into the backstory I have imagined for him, as I wanted to shed some light into a possible story for the character.

That said, his tragic past IN NO WAY excuses what he does to Angel and likely the other workers at his studio. Just because someone has been hurt before, it does not mean they have the right to hurt others. No one has the right to hurt anyone else like that, and somethings is seriously wrong in Valentino's life to make him act like that. Even though his past is tragic in the story, it DOES NOT EXCUSE what he does. I want... no... need to make that very clear. I do not support anything Valentino does to hurt others.

With all that said, I do hope you all continue to enjoy the story. I am sorry if you came to the story for Angel X Valentino, but I cannot in good conscious write a fanfiction shipping the two. Not with what he did in the comic, and especially not after what he saw him do during the Addict music video.

My sincerest apologizes,

The Author

P.S: If this story has caused anyone pain or has made it seem as though I am glorifying Valentino, forgive me please. That was never the intention of this story.


	10. Dark Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel gets into a fight with his co-workers and it reveals deeper issues that he had been hiding inside. Unsure of his own thoughts, Angel decides to take Shadow up on her offer to meet up and talk. Feelings are discussed, past events are remembered, and a secret about Shadow is revealed.

Back at the studio, things had been fairly crazy. Though Shadow had done her best to keep things under control, the lack of the studio’s owner present was concerning many of the workers. Not because most liked him or cared about him, but because they were worried that he had died, meaning they might be out of the job or stuck with a boss somehow worse than Valentino. Everyone was relieved when Valentino finally emerged from his room, however, the worry returned when he was summoned to the office. That worry further increased when he left the studio and had not returned for several hours, only to come back and lock himself away with Shadow.

“Do you know what is going on with the boss?” asked a young cat demoness, Concerta. She and Angel were in the changing room getting ready for a film shoot. The man Angel was going to be “working” with while Concerta watched was already on set. Concerta and Angel, however, had a lot more makeup than he did, so they were still in the dressing room. Angel shook his head in response to her question.

“No idea. Probably just stressed. I mean, there is that gala that the overlords always go to, so I think he might be dealing with some business related to that,” Angel replied.

“You think someone is going to try to take him out?” Concerta questioned. Angel had been putting on his regular long pinkish boots when she asked this, and he immediately looked up at her.

“What are you talking about?” Angel asked. Concerta shrugged.

“The boss has just… he seems off his game lately. I heard rumors this rival gang tried to attack him a little while,” she told him.

“Yeah. They did. But Big V took care of it,” replied Angel, thinking back to the poor shark demon Angel saw Valentino attacking.

“Yeah… but still. I mean, if a lower demon gang is willing to go after him… what about other overlords?” Concerta suggested. Angel sighed as he continued to get ready.

“Look, honey. I know Val. He ain’t the sort of demon to just give up. Even if shit gets tough, he will stick it out. Ain’t no rival gang or overlord strong enough to take him out,” Angel countered. Valentino was one of the most intimidating overlords Angel had ever met in his life, and Angel was convinced that there were very few demons who could actually take down the moth demon. Even fewer that would actually try. Because who would want to have to deal with running the porn studio? Angel knew that, personally, he would never want to have that responsibility.

“I think… maybe it would be better if someone did kill him. You know?” muttered Concerta.

“Ya really outta watch what you say, Certa. If the wrong person hears you saying that…” began Angel, but the cat demon let out a hiss.

“I hate that! I hate that we have to pretend we are happy all the time! I hate that we have to act like everything is fine! I am so tired of it all! And you know what?! If Valentino were to die, Hell would be better off! Anyone could do his job! It isn’t that hard to run a business!” screamed Concerta. Angel then stood up and all six of his arms were out. All of his hands were balled into fists.

“If it is such an easy job, why don’t you do it?! Why don’t you just take over?! Because it is not an easy job! I bet ya any money that running this filthy place takes so much work that you would lose sleep every night just worrying about if the place was secure against attacks! And that doesn’t include all the other worries that come with it! Worrying about the money. Worrying about the clients and the workers. You have to take all of that into account!” shouted Angel.

“Why are you defending Valentino?! He treats all of us like garbage! Why don’t you feel the same way about this?!” yelled Concerta. Angel froze at this. He reverted back to his normal form and looked away from her.

“I don’t know. I don’t know why. I just… I don’t know…” began Angel. He threw on his coat and made his way to the exit.

“Angel. Look. I didn’t mean to yell at you…” began Concerta, but Angel waved her off.

“It’s fine. I just don’t feel so hot right now. I’m going back to my room to lie down,” he told her.

“But the shoot! We have to get to set soon!” called Concerta, but her concerns went unnoticed by the spider demon. Angel was far too busy dealing with his own thoughts. Why had he defended Valentino? Why had he tried to make it seem like Valentino dying would be a bad thing? Would it have been such a bad thing for him to say he agreed with Concerta?

Angel had always tried to convince himself that Valentino was not that bad of a boss. That he was just stressed and took his anger out on his workers because of that. Angel tried to convince himself that this was normal. Sometimes, he would try to tell himself that it was because they were in Hell, and because there were no rules or laws, people took their anger out differently. Angel tried to tell himself that it was his fault as well. That he was the one to blame because he would sneak out or he would be late. That he deserved it because he had an attitude or did not dress in the right way. He spent so long telling himself that Valentino was not at fault. That it was _his_ fault for the pain Valentino inflicted on him. And what made matters worse was the fact that Valentino always backed this idea up.

 _“You know I hate doing this to you, Angel baby. But you always take on such bad habits or attitudes. Daddy hates having to punish you, so try to be good, ok?_ ” Valentino would tell him. And Angel really did believe this. He believed it was all his fault for so long. That is, until he began to stay at the Happy Hotel. There, people would notice whenever he would show up with bruises or cuts. There, showing up with scars was not normal, but rather worrying. And there, people acted on these worries. One person who acted on these worries more than Angel had thought she would was none other than Charlie’s girlfriend, Vaggie.

Vaggie and Angel had a sort of love-hate relationship. Angel loved to annoy Vaggie, and she hated it when he would do that. He would take cheap pot shots at her or make comments that would annoy her. Sometimes he would do things or act a certain way just to piss her off. He got a kick out of it. He found it all rather amusing watching her freak out over the slightest things that Angel would do. His “don’t care” attitude really got on her nerves. Even so though, the two did care about each other. If one of them was hurting or was down, the other would try their best not to do anything that would upset that person even more. Normally, it was just that they would avoid each other if one of them was upset, but one day this all changed, and their love-hate relationship turned into more of a friendship.

On this particular day, Angel had been with a client who was very disrespectful to him. Angel could handle some amount of disrespect from the clients. It was normally part of the job. The clients called Angel weak insults while they were working themselves off, and Angel didn’t care. This day though, the client insulted Angel and his sister. The client he had been with somehow knew Molly and insisted on making very sexual comments about her to Angel. Angel had had about enough of the man, and so in an act of blind rage, he punched the man hard in the jaw. The man had left crying, and Angel had smirked, took out a cigar, and smoked as he left the building. He had felt pretty proud of himself…

Until he found out that the man had called Valentino to complain.

In all fairness, Angel supposed he should have seen that coming. Most of his clients would complain or whine to Valentino if something went wrong. They were just like that. So, it should not have surprised Angel too much that this client was the same. However, that did not mean he was any less terrified of the consequences of his actions. He had returned to the studio later that night to find Valentino on the couch with two of his female co-workers. They were snuggled up to him and nuzzling against the fluff of his robe. He was holding a golden cane with a heart on top of it. He smirked when he saw Angel enter the studio’s lobby.

“Ah! There is my darling little star! Finally!” greeted Valentino. Angel had felt his heart sink and he swallowed hard. He could not move. He felt frozen in place. Terrified. Valentino noticed this and growled. “Come to Daddy, Angel Cakes,” Valentino demanded. Angel slowly walked over to Valentino and he knelt down in front of the overlord. He knew better than to stand in front of him. Valentino looked over at the two girls, and they nodded. Standing up, the two made their exit. They were giggling to themselves. Most likely hoping that, after Valentino was finished with Angel, they would get a chance to help him blow off some steam. It was a “privilege” most of the workers longed for. Because if Valentino was with you for stress relief, then it meant that you did not have to go outside and find some John Doe to be with for the evening. It was very rare, however, for Valentino to have someone stay with him for the night. Angel never knew why this was, or what they did during that time. All he knew was that sometimes Valentino would hide away in his private room with a worker or two, and they would leave in the morning looking very happy. He had never done this with Angel though. Angel was not sure why this was either, however he could hardly say anything against it.

“B… boss… listen… I know I screwed up today but…” began Angel, however he stopped speaking when Valentino gently ran a hand along his cheek. Angel instinctively brushed against the hand. He knew Valentino had a soft spot for when he did this and he was hoping that this would cause Valentino to treat him a little better, or even skip the punishment altogether.

“You did screw up, baby doll. You screwed up a lot and that could have cost me my cut of the money you were going to make. I might have had to pay him back, which would not only ruin my finances for this week, but it would also ruin my reputation. And I don’t like having people mess with my reputation!” growled Valentino.

“D… did he ask for the money back? If he did, I can pay him, boss. Ya don’t have to worry about that,” insisted Angel. He hated the idea of having to pay up from his own pocket. Especially to a jerk like that client, but it was better than costing Valentino his money. Valentino sighed and shook his head at this.

“No need for that. He was very persistent in getting his money back. Made threats that he would go public about the way you treated him. So, I had him tortured for a few hours and now he is coming to work for me as my newest little darling. He will be working the messier group shots. You know the ones,” Valentino told Angel. Angel could not help but shiver at this. He had heard of _those_ shots. They were the ones that involved a ton of blood, knives, torture and pain. Angel had never been forced to work one of those, but he had walked by the rooms where those were filmed. Angel never had anything against a little pain. Hell, a little pain was kind of his thing at times. But the things that went down in those room… they were the things of nightmares even for the biggest pain junky. Though Angel hated the client with a burning passion, he still felt pity for him now.

“T… that is good. S… so, uh… guess he won’t be causing any troubles around here. I… I can go now, right?” Angel asked timidly. Valentino let out a cruel laugh.

“Angel baby! You crack me up sometimes! You really think that I am going to just let you go off without punishing you for this? Without teaching you a lesson about how to act? No. What kind of boss would I be if I did not take this chance to… help you learn?” laughed Valentino. “Now. Get up and bend over the couch,” growled Valentino. Angel stood up on shaking legs. His head felt light and he was having trouble seeing straight. He did as Valentino said to, bending over the couch and putting his head down into the soft cushion.

“Boss…” he began, but he screamed when he felt a sharp pain on his back. Valentino had hit him hard with his cane, and the soft skin of his back was now throbbing in pain and agony. Valentino struck him again and again, and Angel began sobbing. He could not help it. He was scared that Valentino was going to crush his spine with each hit. After about ten strikes on the back, Valentino stopped.

“Turn around and face me,” he snapped. Angel did as he was told. His back was throbbing and he felt as though he were made out of glass that could shatter at the slightest movement, but he knew it would only be worse if he did not do as Valentino instructed. With a swift move of his top right hand, Valentino slapped Angel hard across the face. Angel recoiled and fell over, causing him to wince in pain.

“Please. Stop,” cried Angel as he tried to shield his face. Valentino grabbed the cane and began hitting Angel in the side. Angel cried out in pain and fear. He tried his best to get away, now realizing that no amount of obedience could save him, but Valentino used his bottom arms to hold Angel down as his top right swung the cane into Angel’s side over and over again. The studio was filled with his screams for hours, but to Angel, it felt like an eternity.

When Valentino finally let him go some four hours later, Angel could barely walk. He did not want to stay in the studio that night. He wanted to be some place he could just wash up, clean up, and go to bed. So, Angel called a limousine and got it to take him to the hotel. He went to lie back in the limo, however his back was hurting far too much when he lied down, so he sat upright instead. When the limousine arrived at the hotel, Angel stepped out of the limousine, tipped the driver, and he snuck into the hotel. He was too tired to go all the way to his room, so he figured he would just use the restroom downstairs and sleep on the couch in the lobby. He slowly made his way to the restroom and once he was there, he shut the door behind him and began to undress. He had taken his shirt off and was in the process of taking off his very tight and uncomfortable leggings when the door to the restroom swung open.

“Charlie? Are you…” began Vaggie, however she let out a gasp when she saw it was Angel. Angel rolled his eyes.

“Did you think of knocking, sweetheart?” he grumbled. Vaggie said nothing. Her eyes were wide, and she looked horrified. “What? Never seen a naked person before. Probably haven’t, but still, staring like that is very rude,” he snapped.

“What happened to you?” Vaggie asked. Angel was about to ask what she was talking about when he looked down to see the scars and bruises covering his body. Some were from past “punishments” and some were the new ones from today. He looked in the mirror and saw that his cheek was swelling as well from how hard Valentino had struck him across the face.

“O… oh. This… this was just a client who got a bit rough. Liked that sort of thing, I guess. No big deal,” replied Angel as calmly as he could. He was trying his best to play this off as nothing serious.

 _“Please let her leave. Please let her just not say anything and leave,”_ Angel thought to himself.

“That doesn’t look like nothing, and I don’t think a client did that. Angel, you were gone a long time. And I’ve noticed that… well… when you are gone a long time… you come back looking really bad. You look tired and you are limping sometimes. Other times you are holding your arm or your side. You sneak around and think no one sees you, but I do. Angel, I’ve seen that before… but I never knew it was this bad…” Vaggie whispered. Angel turned away.

“I have rough clients sometimes. What can I say? I’m a fan favourite, even for the freaks here,” he insisted.

“Angel… you told us your client was only half-an-hour away from the hotel. You said you’d be back in an hour and a half at the most,” she told him.

“Yeah, well, he lasted longer than I thought,” fibbed Angel.

“That is one reason for it,” Vaggie muttered.

“And what do you think happened?” he snarled. Had he snapped at Charlie this way, he was sure she would have given up right there. But this was Vaggie, and she was not giving up after a little bit of attitude from the spider demon.

“I think that the studio is a longer trip, and I think that your boss is a dirtbag who would keep you there longer. I think that your boss likes to keep you there longer, and I think he doesn’t treat you well when he does. I think that those bruises and scars were not from a client. Sure, they were from someone that pays you, but not a client,” Vaggie replied. She took a breath and looked him in the eyes. “Angel… this might be hard for you to say aloud, so just nod, ok? If this is true… just nod,” she began. She took another breath. “Angel… has Valentino ever done anything to you that hurt you?” she asked. Angel’s eyes began to fill with tears. He was so tired of lying to everyone. Of lying to everyone at the studio and at the hotel. Of lying to himself.

 _“Yes,”_ he thought to himself as he nodded. She was right though. It was too hard to say the words out loud. Vaggie took in another breath. She sat down on the edge of the bathtub and she patted the spot beside her. Angel hesitated but sat down.

“Angel… has Valentino made you do things you actually did not want to do? For a film or just for him?” asked Vaggie.

“For a film,” answered Angel in a shaking voice. His whole body was shaking. His heart was pounding, and he felt sick.

“Angel… does Valentino… does he hit you if you don’t do what he wants? If you don’t act like how he wants to you act?” questioned Vaggie.

“It is my fault really. I am supposed to act a certain way or do certain things, but I screw up,” Angel told her. Vaggie then did something that shocked him. She hugged him tightly and she began to cry.

“Angel no. It is not your fault. It can never be your fault, ok? When someone treats you like that, something is very wrong in their life, but it has nothing to do with you. I know it can be easy to blame yourself. They tell you that it is your fault. They tell you it is because you did something wrong or because of something about you, but it has nothing to do with you in all honesty. Angel, people that hurt others and abuse others are the ones to blame. It is never the survivor’s fault, ok? If someone hurts someone like that, that is on the person doing the hurting. Angel, this is on Valentino. It is not on you. It can never be on you,” she told him in a stern but soft voice.

“I’m a bad person, Vags. I deserve this,” cried Angel. He was sobbing hard now, and he hugged her back.

“No. You are not. You are just doing what you have to in order to survive, and that is all anyone could ask of you. You are just trying to make a living and get through this new life. Angel, you are not a bad person. You are just stuck in a bad place and in a bad situation. You don’t deserve any of this,” she insisted.

“I want the hurting to stop,” he admitted to her. “That’s why I take all those pills and shit, ya know? It makes the pain go away. It makes it stop hurting, even if it is just for a little while. I can’t take it. It all hurts so much, and it makes me feel like crap!” he continued.

“I’m so sorry, Angel. I am so sorry. Listen, if there is anything I can ever do to help, please just tell me, ok? I am here for you. I know we aren’t the greatest of friends. Hell, we bug each other half the time and drive each other mad the other half. But… I don’t think you are that bad of a person, Angel. And I am here for you always,” Vaggie promised him.

“I’ve never had anyone tell me that before. No one except my sister. Hehe… not even my old man wanted me,” Angel told her in a sad tone.

“Well, he missed out on getting a chance to meet probably the sassiest, most sarcastic person ever, but also one of the coolest people ever,” she replied with a small smile. He chuckled.

“Yeah. His loss, I guess,” chuckled Angel.

“Exactly! His loss, not yours! You are better off without him. And one day, Angel, you will see that you deserve so much better than how you are treated at that studio,” Vaggie said. Angel looked down again.

“Yeah. Maybe,” he muttered. In truth, he did not feel like he deserved anything more than what was happening to him at that moment, but he wanted to believe what she was saying. He wanted to believe that the pain was not his fault.

And slowly, after that day and with a lot of help from Vaggie, he began to see that she was right. He began to realize that it really was not his fault. That Valentino was in the wrong and that he did not deserve what Valentino was doing. Vaggie helped him to see that not only did he deserve better, but there _was_ a better. Angel began to spend a little more time at the hotel. Enough that it made a chance in his personal life, but not too much so that it did not piss Valentino off and get him into trouble. Angel began to find that the more time he spent at the hotel, the better he felt about himself. The more understood he felt. The freer he felt. It was a new experience for him. Even when he was human, he had never felt like he belonged. He had always felt like he was alone. His father and older brother always hated him because he was not as ruthless as they were, and this hate only grew when they found out that he was gay. His sister was his only friend, but she was scared of their father, so she never stood up for him. And Angel could not blame her for that. Hell, he was scared of their father too, but it did make him feel very alone in his human life. So, the hotel was really the first time he not only felt safe but felt loved too. That was thanks to everyone, but especially thanks to Vaggie, who spent a lot of time helping him work through his emotions and fears when it came to his current living situation in Hell.

Aside from more self-confidence and self-love (genuine, not faked anymore), Angel also began to slowly realize how awful Valentino really treated him and the other workers. How cruel he could be at the slightest mistake. Angel no longer made excuses for Valentino. Sure, he would not mouth off or snap back at Valentino even though he wanted to now, but he knew that Valentino was being unreasonable. Not just unreasonable, but a total and utter jerk.

So, with this in mind, Angel could not think of any reason he had defended Valentino. Any reason that he would feel the need to defend him. He hated Valentino! For Lucifer’s sake the man had made Angel’s life a living nightmare! So, why had he tried to defend him.

 _“Maybe I could talk to Vaggie about it? Oh wait… shit… she’s on a date with Charlie. I don’t want to disturb that. She’d been looking forward to it for months now, and it is her Death Day anniversary thing to herself too…”_ Angel thought to himself.

“If you ever need to talk; please let me know,” Angel remembered a letter he had received saying.

 _“Oh yeah! That is right! Shadow told me she was there to chat if I ever needed to talk with someone. Hey! Maybe she could help me about with this, or even just listen,”_ Angel thought to himself. It was worth a shot. Sure, he did not trust her quite as much as the folks from the hotel, but she seemed decent enough. She was pretty quiet and shy, so he doubted that she would be cruel about it. Plus, she would not have offered to talk if she did not mean it, right? Right, Angel had decided. Or, rather he had convinced himself that that was the truth, because he did not want to believe she could have offered out of some sort of obligation to. He wanted to believe it was out of the good of her heart, because right now, he needed someone that did that out of the good of their heart.

Angel had a very hard time finding where Shadow was. He had never had much need to interact with her, so he had no clue where her office was. Valentino let very few people near her, let alone into her office. That made sense though. Shadow was sweet and very cutesy. There were many demons in the studio who would take fully advantage of that. So, he understood why she was so sheltered by the boss. He wasn’t sure why the boss chose to show her kindness, but he was grateful for her sake that he did. He was not grateful, however, for the fact it took him nearly two hours to find her office. Once he had found it, he knocked gently on the door as to not frighten the butterfly demoness.

“Come in,” he heard her call. He opened the door with a smile on his face.

“Hey… um… I came to take you up on that offer of yours,” Angel told her. Shadow smiled back at him and shut down her laptop.

“I am glad to hear that. Please, take a seat,” she said, pointing to the chair across from her on the other side of the desk. Angel nodded and sat down.

“Thanks,” he said as he looked around her office. It was littered with various horror movie posters and anime posters. “I didn’t take you for the horror movie type,” he mentioned. She blushed at this.

“I suppose that makes sense. Most don’t peg me for that type, but there is something nice about horror movies. The terror is all in the screen, and while it is scary when you watch it, you know you can turn off the TV and everything will go back to being normal. Plus… sometimes the horror in the movies is not as bad as the ones in real life,” she replied, whispering the last part.

“Yeah. I get that,” he muttered. She gave him an apologetic smile.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to ramble like that,” she told him.

“Don’t sweat it. You are fine,” he assured her. She nodded at this.

“So, what is it you came to discuss?” she asked. Angel got up, shut the door to her office, then sat back down. He took in a few deep breaths.

“What did you mean when you said not to judge Val too harshly?” questioned Angel. The blush returned to Shadow’s face and she nervously looked down.

“W… well… I just…” she stammered. She took a moment to collect herself before continuing. “You haven’t seen this side of him, but Mr. Valentino is not always as bad as he seems to people outside of his inner circle. He might seem cruel, cold, and merciless, but deep down, he is just like most of the people here. Putting on a mask and trying his best to uphold the image everyone expects him to. He might not act like it… but I know it eats away at him whenever he hurts someone,” she answered.

“Well, he sure does it an awful lot for someone who hates it,” growled Angel. Shadow whimpered a little at this, and he sighed. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to get snappy,” he apologized. He knew how afraid she was of yelling. Never knew why this was, but he knew that she had that fear nevertheless.

“I… it is fine. Really,” she whispered. “I know he hurts people a lot, but what most people don’t realize is that he is hurting a lot to. And that does not excuse what he does. Let me make that very clear. I know that Valentino does horrible things and there are no excuses for what he does. I do not support what he does to his workers when they are disobedient at all, and personally, I wish he didn’t do that. Keep that between us please though,” she continued. “But at the same time… I know that there are things that keep him up at night too. I know that he is also hurting. Breaking even. I think that he had been hurt so many times that hurt is the only way he knows. I think he believes that is the only way to protect himself,” she answered honestly.

“I’m torn about this whole thing, Shadow,” Angel said.

“What do you mean?” questioned Shadow with a confused expression.

“I don’t know how to feel about any of this. About all of this!” Angel told her.

“Well, let’s cut this into pieces then,” she suggested. “First off, do you like your job?” she asked.

“Well… kinda. I mean, there are some parts of my job that I enjoy. The pay is really good. I can’t complain about that. I get to spend the money on pretty much anything I want. Sometimes I don’t even have to dip into my own savings though. Folks buy me stuff all the time. Whether it is some rich client or whether Big Vee decides he wants to get me something, folks ‘round here buy me stuff all the time. Clothing. Drugs. Food. Booze. You name it, someone’s probably bought it for me. So… in terms of that, my job’s pretty swell. Sometimes it… it can feel good too, ya know? I mean, there are times when a client will put his…” began Angel, but Shadow quickly cut him off.

“I… I think I get the point!” she nervously stammered out. Angel could not help but laugh at this.

“You are weirdly squeamish around the topic of sex, Shadow. I mean, ya work at a porn studio,” Angel said to her. She blushed at this.

“W… well yes, but I avoid… that aspect of it. I mostly just manage the books or greet customers,” she replied.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that. Why did you start working here anyways?” Angel asked her. Part of him just wanted to move the conversation away from him, however part of him was genuinely curious about the young butterfly demoness.

“Well, when I first arrived in Hell, I didn’t really have anywhere else to go. I was really scared when I woke up here as a demon and kind of just bolted around trying to find shelter. I bumped into Mr. Valentino while I was trying to find shelter. He took a liking to me and well… to be honest, he just kind of picked me up and carried me to the studio,” Shadow told Angel.

“Sounds like Big Vee,” he commented. Shadow nodded.

“He told me I was welcomed to stay in the studio as long as I wanted. Told me that it was safer in there than on the streets. I protested at first when I saw what kind of studio it was, but he told me everything would be alright,” she continued. “Ever since then, I’ve been staying here and working for Mr. Valentino," Shadow said.

“I… guess that explains some things… but… hey, can I ask you a… ur… um… personal question?” Angel asked after she was finished talking. Shadow nodded with a curious expression on her face.

“Of course. What is it?” she replied.

“Well… it is just that you and Val seem pretty close. I mean, you hang around him a lot and I saw you go to his office when he got back before… and the door closed to the office…” hinted Angel. He had always wondered if Valentino and Shadow were together in some setting other than boss and secretary, but he had never really gotten the chance to ask. However, curiosity was getting the better of him now and he figured now would be the best time to ask, since he had gotten her talking already. Shadow’s face turned bright red and she looked away from Angel.

“It is nothing like that. We just talked,” she answered. Angel’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Really?! So, you’ve never slept with him?!” shouted Angel in surprise. Shadow shot him a look that was clearly meant to say she wanted him to keep his voice down, and he chuckled a little nervously. “Sorry. I was just shocked. I mean, you’re a pretty gal and everything, so I just thought maybe he would be interested in you,” Angel told her. A small smile came across Shadow’s face.

“That is most kind of you to say, but no. My relationship with Valentino is nothing like that. He was interested, but when he began to push… let’s just say that… someone else stepped in and made it very clear to him that he was to respect my limits,” she told him. Angel raised an eyebrow at this.

“Who?” asked Angel. Shadow drew in a breath before answering him.

“My split,” she admitted to him.

“Split? As in…” Angel began, but Shadow’s nod cut him off.

“When I was human, I was in a pretty traumatic situation as a child. I’d prefer not to go into it, but let’s just say someone hurt me pretty badly when I was young. To deal with that trauma, my mind created a separate personality that was there to protect me. Her name is Dark. She takes over for me whenever I get overwhelmed or scared. So, when Mr. Valentino tried to move things further one night and I was uncomfortable, Dark took over. She… punched him hard in the face,” Shadow replied.

“Wait! That gold tooth!” Angel exclaimed. Shadow blushed at this.

“Yeah… that would be because of her. It was a while ago and I suppose that Mr. Valentino adopted that as his signature thing… but yes, that was Dark,” Shadow confirmed. Angel could not help but smile at this.

“That is kind of boss, not going to lie,” he complimented. Shadow looked at him with a surprised expression, then chuckled as well.

“Thank you, though you would certainly never catch me doing something like that,” she laughed.

“Yeah. Can’t really picture you doing that,” he replied. Shadow stopped laughing and went silent.

“Angel… how do you feel about Mr. Valentino?” she questioned.

“W…what?” Angel asked.

“I… I know he puts you through Hell and worse. How do you feel about him?” Shadow repeated. Angel took in a deep breath. Did he tell her the truth? Did he lie? What was he supposed to do? Shadow seemed to sense these hesitations and she gave him a shy smile. “Angel… I know that I seem close to Mr. Valentino, but I am not blind. I know what he does. I know the hurt he causes you and others,” she told him plainly. Tears filled Angel’s eyes and he broke down.

“I hate him! I hate him for what he puts me through! I hate him for the hurt he has caused me! I hate him for using me and for treating me like shit!” Angel yelled. Shadow hesitated but gave him a gentle hug. Angel had tensed up at first when she moved to hug him, but the gentleness of her touch and the reassuring smile on her face helped him to calm down a little. The fear disappeared and Angel just sobbed into her shirt. “Me and this gal from the studio got into a fight earlier. I… I defended Valentino to her. Why did I do that? Val puts all of us through all this awful shit and I defended him!” cried Angel.

“I… I think it is because it is what you are used to doing, Angel. You are so used to internalizing that pain and shame that when someone challenges Valentino… you jump to defend him because you are so used to having to do so. So used to having to agree with him and so used to having to play nice, even when you are not in the wrong,” Shadow offered. Angel took a moment to consider this.

She had a point. Whenever there was a dispute between him and Valentino, he always had to say that Valentino was right, otherwise Valentino would hurt him more. He always had to make it seem like Valentino was the hero and that he was the villain in the situation. He had never really thought much of it before, but Shadow was right. He had spent years blaming himself for everything that happened, even if part of his mind knew that Valentino was the only one to blame. Still though, it was all Angel had been able to do. He had never been able to vent to anyone at the studio at the risk that they would report it back to Valentino, but now that Shadow had mentioned it, he knew that that was why he had leaped up and defended Valentino. It was because he was scared that he would get in trouble if he did not, and because part of him was so used to putting Valentino into the role of the hero or “good guy”. Because for so long, that was all he had known.

“Angel… you have to know that what Valentino does to you is wrong. It is very wrong, and you deserve so much better than the way he treats you. You deserve to be treated like a king. Valentino is a… complicated man with a dark past, but that does not excuse what he does to you. It does not make his actions ok,” she told Angel. Angel sobbed hard.

“I hate myself. He made me hate myself! He made me hate my own body! He took even that from me!” Angel sobbed to Shadow. He could hear Shadow crying too.

“I know. I know. I wish there was something I could do…” she began, but she suddenly cut herself off. Angel felt her arms slip away from around him and he moved back a little bit. His eyes went wide when he saw what was happening.

Shadow’s normally blonde hair was turning to a dark black. Her eyes were now a crimson color and her dress was now a flowing black gown. Her wings, which were normally a bright purple and blue, were turning both crimson and black. The edges pointed in a way that reminded Angel of knives. Her hair now flowed straight down and when she was finished transforming, Angel barely recognized her. Had he not seen her transform right in front of him, he would never have believed that this woman was Shadow only moments earlier.

“Hello Angel. It is nice to finally meet you,” greeted the demon Angel knew to be Dark.

“H… hey,” stammered Angel.

 _“This is the gal that punched Val in the face? I can see that. I can definitely see her doing that,”_ Angel thought to himself. This woman had an air of power to her that Angel (as much as he hated to think it) had never felt with Shadow.

“Relax. I’m not here to hurt you. I’m actually here to help. See, Shadow really likes you. She thinks you are a swell guy and wants to help. But Shadow is too timid to do anything about the situation. So, I am here to have a little chat with Valentino about his… actions towards you,” Dark explained.

“And… he will listen to you?” questioned Angel. Dark shrugged.

“Maybe. Valentino is an unpredictable man. But, best I can do is try,” Dark replied.

“Ain’t ya… worried he will hurt you or Shadow?” Angel asked. Dark laughed at this.

“Angel… I am the dark side to Shadow. While she practically fears everything, I fear barely anything. And that includes Valentino. He might be more powerful than I am but trust me when I saw I know how to handle situations with him,” Dark responded. When she laughed, Angel saw rows of sharp teeth in her mouth. Sharp, and dripping with blood as they were too long for her own mouth and dug into her gums. She did not seem to care though, or if she did, she hid it well.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Angel asked. Dark nodded.

“I can’t sit by and let him hurt you anymore. Plus, if all else fails, I am sure Shadow will find some way to tug on whatever is left of Valentino’s heart. If there is anything left, that is,” Dark informed him. Angel gave her a small smile, wiping tears from his face.

“I… I should get going. I’ve got shoots and stuff,” Angel told her. Dark nodded at this.

“Of course. Be safe, and I will come talk to you after it is done,” Dark called to Angel as he left the room. He made his way to Stage 3. He was pretty much ready for his shoot, only needing to fix up his makeup a little. He got onto set and Concerta walked up to him.

“Hey… about earlier…” she began, but Angel cut her off.

“Look… what I said before was me talking about of my ass. I only defended Val cause I felt like I had to. Between you and I… I feel the same way as you. Aside from the pay, this place doesn’t mean shit to me,” Angel told her. Concerta then hugged Angel tightly.

“Thank you,” she said. She didn’t even need to explain why she was thanking him. Angel knew. He knew the relief that came with having someone understand your feelings. Your pain and heartbreak. Having someone listen to you and having someone there for you. Someone that did not judge you. It was something he had been without for so long, but as he walked onto that stage holding Concerta’s hand softly, he realized that now he had found that. He thought of Vaggie. Of Cherri. Of Shadow. And now, looking at her soft smile, maybe Concerta. He thought of Charlie, who had such hopes for him and his redemption. He thought of Husk and Niffty, who even though he was not very close with them, they treated him like a person. And he realized that even though there was a lot of stuff he would have to work through about his past and about his own self-worth… at least the road would be a little less lonely now.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Meanwhile, Valentino was working on a few new scripts in his office. He had been locked in there nearly all day trying to review the papers and getting nowhere. Nothing felt right. He hated everything. Reading the scenes made his head pound as though someone were hitting him hard with a brink. He sighed and put his head down on his desk. It was then he heard a knock as his door.

“Who is it?” Valentino called. Instead of hearing a reply, the door burst open and off of its hinges. Standing in the doorway with fire in her eyes was Dark. Valentino stood up immediately.

“What are you doing here?!” he called. He was unsure whether he meant at his office or if he meant why she was here in the form and not Shadow. Dark walked right up to Valentino and despite their obvious height difference, she looked as though she were not intimidated at all by him.

“What am I doing? What the fuck are you doing?” she growled. Valentino raised his eyebrow.

“Excuse me?” he snapped. “If I were you, I would watch my language,” he growled. Dark laughed at this.

“Cut the tough guy act. We all know you aren’t going to hurt me,” she told him. He rolled his eyes and sighed.

“What do you want?” repeated the moth demon.

“We need to talk,” Dark responded.

“About?” asked Valentino.

“About Angel,” replied Dark. Valentino’s eyes widened at this and he looked away, shame clear on his face. This caused Dark to smirk.

“Let’s get this over with then,” he muttered. Dark laughed, and it was a horribly frightening sound that caused the foundation of the studio itself to shudder with fear.

“Oh, I think this is going to take a while. Judging by that look on your face, I think we have a _lot_ to discuss. And we are overdue for a nice little debate, don’t you think?” Dark chuckled, and with that, she walked over and shut the door to Valentino’s office.


	11. Very Important Message!

Dear readers,

I hope you are all well.

I have been giving this a lot of thought, and ever since the Addict video came out, I have felt weird about this story. Before I did not mind writing it because even with the information from the comic, I could write Valentino’s character in a way that would make his character semi-realistic to the cannon information, while still trying to show him as a redeemable character. However, since the MV came out, I have realized that Valentino is a man who might just be beyond redemption. He does things to Angel that were worse than I had ever thought he would, and though he is a jerk in the comic, the MV has revealed new information about Valentino’s very unhealthy relationship with Angel Dust that makes me feel as though I cannot continue this story.

I am so sorry. I know so many of you were fans of this story, and I thank you all for the overwhelming support you have all given me. I just... I cannot write this story anymore.

I will be starting a new story featuring the V gang which will have elements of “Tears of Gold” in it. The new story will follow the backstories of Velvet, Vox and Valentino. For me, that was always the part of “Tears of Gold” I wanted to write. The stories and reasons for the V gang acting as they do in the cannon material/setting we see them in. I wanted to explore the possible pasts for the three, and for me personally, I’ve never shipped Angel and Valentino together. I do not have any personal beef with anyone that does, as their ships are their own opinions so long as they are not hurting anyone, but I never shipped it. I wrote the first chapter from a joke request on YouTube, but since the MV came out, I cannot continue this as a story with Angel and Valentino in any way involved. I do not want to send the wrong message or come across as though I am trying to play down what Valentino does.

So, I am going to be working on the new story. If you are interested, I will post a link as soon as the story is up and posted. Some of the chapters will be the same as the ones in here, however it will have a lot of new material that hopefully you will all find interesting.

I am sincerely sorry. I did not mean to let any of you down, but I simply cannot continue working on this story.

I hope you can forgive me.

Sincerely and for the last time on this story,

The Author


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